Not KL Rahul; Ricky Ponting Picks Rohit Sharma as India’s Next Test Captain

India New Test Captain: Reminiscing his days at the MI camp, Ponting recalled Rohit taking over as captain. 

Mumbai: Speculations have been rife over who will become India’s next Test captain after Virat Kohli resigned as the skipper following the loss against South Africa. While Rohit Sharma is the obvious choice to take over — plaudits have thrown in other names like KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Jasprit Bumrah. Ex-Australian captain Ricky Ponting, who has also been a part of the Mumbai Indians franchise in IPL, and worked closely with Rohit – has backed the MI skipper to take over from Kohli.

Reminiscing his days at the MI camp, Ponting recalled Rohit taking over as captain.

“I was at Mumbai Indians when Rohit Sharma took over the captaincy there. I was bought in the auction to be their captain and unfortunately, I wasn’t playing well enough after the first few games to keep myself in the team, so I had to make room for another international player to come into the side,” Ponting was quoted by the ICC website.

Ponting also revealed that he was consulted when the management had to pick the captain. He added: “There were a few names thrown around between owners and the other coaches but it was really clear to me that there was only one guy that can lead the team – he was a young guy and his name happened to be Rohit Sharma.”

Meanwhile, Rohit – who missed the South Africa tour due to an injury – is set to take over as captain in the home series against West Indies. It would also be interesting to see who becomes India’s next Test captain. The announcement is expected after the IPL.