Feel Rohit Sharma stands out as a leader: Gautam Gambhir on changing Virat Kohli as India's T20 captain

The Indian Premier League (IPL) came to an end on November 10 with the Rohit Sharma-led Mumbai Indians (MI) lifting their record fifth title against Delhi Capitals (DC). The skipper played a captain's knock as he led his troops from the front in the summit clash.

After the victory, many spoke about the Hitman's leadership and several experts want him to lead the Men in Blue in white-ball cricket as well. 

Giving his own inputs on the same was former Indian cricketer Gautam Gambhir who said that it would be India’s loss if the Mumbai batsman is not appointed as India's white-ball captain.

"If Rohit Sharma doesn't become India's captain, it's their loss, not Rohit's," Gambhir told ESPN Cricinfo. "Yes, a captain is only as good as his team and I completely agree with that, but what are the parameters to judge a captain on who is good and who isn't? The parameters and benchmark should be the same. Rohit has led his team to five IPL titles."

He even gave an example of MS Dhoni saying he is considered India’s most successful captain because the Ranchi superstar won three IPL titles and all three major ICC trophies, including two World Cups.

"We keep saying MS Dhoni is India's most successful captain. Why? Because he has won two World Cups and three IPLs," Gambhir said. "Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament. Going forward, it'll be a shame if he doesn't get India's white-ball or just T20 captaincy. Because he can't do much more than this. He can only help the team he captains to victories. So if he doesn't become India's regular white-ball captain, it will be their loss."

When it comes to IPL titles, Rohit led Mumbai Indians to a record fifth IPL title while Virat Kohli-led Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) were knocked out of the tournament after making it to the top four.

Gambhir added that Kohli’s captaincy was by no means poor but he had failed to lift a single IPL title despite leading RCB from the same time as Rohit. 

Kohli took over RCB from Daniel Vettori in 2013 and it was during the same time Ricky Ponting stepped down as MI captain to pass it to Rohit.

"They can also consider split-captaincy," he said. "No one is poor. Rohit has shown in white-ball cricket how big the difference is between his and Virat's captaincy. One player had led his team to five titles, the other hasn't won yet. I'm not saying this because Kohli is a poor captain. But he has received the same platform that Rohit has, so you have to judge both of them on the same parameters. Both have been captains in the IPL for the same length of time. I feel Rohit stands out as a leader."

In the IPL, Rohit had suffered a hamstring injury and has been rested for the ODI and T20I series against Australia. He is, however, part of the Test squad. 

As for Kohli, he is expecting the birth of his first child in January 2021 and will return from Australia after playing the first Test and Rohit is expected to lead the team in whites in Kohli’s absence.