New Delhi [India], October 16 : Former leg-spinner Amit Mishra believes that being relieved of the captaincy burden could turn into an asset for veteran opener Rohit Sharma during his return to the international circuit during the ODI series opener against Australia on Sunday.
On March 7, India's unbeaten run in the Champions Trophy concluded on a fairytale note with Rohit being named Player of the Match for his rollicking 76(83) in the final. The batting masterclass became Rohit's last act as the Indian ODI captain as the selectors opted to promote Shubman Gill in the leadership hierarchy, beginning with the three 50-Over fixtures in Australia in Perth.
The decision from the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee was met with mixed reactions. While a section of fans and former cricketers welcomed the decision, the other half strongly rejected it. Mishra is seeing the positive side of Rohit featuring solely as an opener and feels the former skipper will be able to express himself more freely.
"I believe it is good for Rohit that the pressure of captaincy is not on him anymore. He has the freedom. He has to focus on his performance and helping the team win. He can help Gill with different aspects of the captaincy," Mishra said while speaking exclusively to ANI.
For Gill, the leadership duties have come thick and fast since May. After Rohit called it a day in Test format with a brief message, the 26-year-old was tasked to lead India for a gruelling five-match Test tour of England. He walked the talk, piled up a record-shattering 754 runs at 75.40, with a career-best 269, as the series concluded level on 2-2.
With a long-term perspective in mind, Mishra believes it is better for Gill to start early, considering he would mature much faster and lead India for years to come.
"I think it is good for Gill. He has been captaining in the IPL for the last two years. He has led top players across the globe. It is good that Gill is being looked at as the captain. Since he has been handed the captaincy early, he will mature quickly and can serve India for a long time. Gill should enjoy and look to mature as quickly as possible," Mishra added.
India's ODI squad for Australia: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
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