Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has named a couple of players who he feels are string contenders to lead the Indian cricket team in the future. Rohit Sharma recently took over from Virat Kohli as ODI and T20I captain of the Indian team after the T20 World Cup debacle where the Men in Blue had failed to qualify for the semi-finals.
Shastri was also replaced by Rahul Dravid as the head coach of the team as his contract expired post the T20 World Cup. The former head coach feels KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer are two players who are contenders to be an Indian captain in the future. He revealed the names while speaking about Dravid replacing him as the head coach.
“Rahul Dravid knows his job. All I want to say to him is enjoy. KL Rahul is there, Shreyas Iyer has good leading qualities in the future especially in white-ball cricket,” Shastri told Indian Express.
Rahul is already part of India’s leadership group and has been appointed the team’s full-time vice-captain in white-ball cricket with Rohit leading the team. He also was named the stand-in vice-captain of the Test team for the upcoming Test series against South Africa after an injury to Rohit, who was to be Virat Kohli’s deputy for the series.
Rahul has also led Punjab Kings for two seasons in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and has been a regular across formats for Team India over the last few years. He is likely to lead whichever team he decides to join ahead of the IPL mega auction having left Punjab Kings.
Meanwhile, Iyer has also been fantastic as a captain in the IPL and has shown great leadership qualities with Delhi Capitals. He inspired Delhi to their maiden final in IPL 2020. However, Iyer is yet to take a leadership role in the Indian team.
Nonetheless, Shastri, who has observed him from close quarters during his coaching stint, believes Iyer has the potential to lead India in the future. Currently, Rohit is India’s white-ball captain while Kohli continues to lead the side in Tests.
