Sharma should quit Test captaincy, allow a younger man to lead

India has lost the World Test Championship Final. Everyone has had time to reflect on the loss.

But now it is time to look ahead and plan.

The biggest decision that needs to be taken is with regard to the captaincy of the Indian Test squad.

With not much Test cricket planned till the end of the World Cup, it is probably the right time to announce a new Test captain. With Rohit Sharma already 36, it would be the perfect time for him to step aside as the Test captain.

The biggest test for the Indian Test squad will come at the end of the year in South Africa when they tour for a two-Test series and then at home when England comes calling for a five-Test series.

You need to give the new Test captain enough time to prepare a squad for the big Australia tour at the end of 2024. Australia will be hoping to exact revenge after having lost the last two times to India at home.

So the time to prepare for that Australia tour needs to start now. It will be a five-Test series. A lot of the Indian senior players and even the Australian senior players may not be around for that series.

India needs to start planning from now. India has three home series and three away series in the 2023-25 WTC cycle. If India harbours any hope of making the final for the third straight time in the WTC cycle, then the planning needs to start now.

But that won’t happen because of the way things operate in Indian cricket. You can’t plan that far ahead because of the lack of a professional set-up within the BCCI. The selectors have a contract which may not be renewed after early next year. Then the coaching staff may not get an extension if India does not win the ODI World Cup later this year.

This is where someone like Sharma needs to take the opportunity and show the way forward to all critics. He needs to set a benchmark and show that he is looking ahead. The problem is that in Indian cricket there are too many theories floating that a particular star cannot take a call on his future because of his market value.

If anyone can set the record straight it is Sharma. He needs to come out and announce that in the interest of Indian Test cricket he wants to let the new captain have enough time to prepare the squad for the 12 Tests against South Africa, England and Australia. That will be the best course going forward.

Just who should be the new Test captain? Well, that is another issue because India has not done any forward planning of any kind for any of the formats.

This is an issue which needs to be handled carefully. But for now the immediate step needs to be that of Sharma’s resignation as Test captain.