Rohit Sharma insisted that he doesn’t lose sleep over being handed the reins of the Indian team for the white-ball formats on a permanent basis.
In the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit will lead India against Bangladesh in the Twenty20 series, beginning on Sunday in New Delhi. Kohli was given a break from the Twenty20 series as part of workload management.
There was a debate recently that, perhaps, it’s time that India embrace the idea of split captaincy and Rohit should be asked to lead the side in the limited-overs formats.
The 32-year-old, though, refused to be drawn into the debate, saying he is happy to fill in whenever the situation demands arises.
“These [captaincy] things are not in our hands,” Rohit said. “Whether you captain one or 100 matches, it is an honour.
“When we were growing up, it was all about playing for the country. I have captained the team and the experience has been good. I don’t think about how long I should be made captain. Whenever I get the chance to captain the team, I try and enjoy that.”
Rohit gave a thumbs up to the idea of hosting a pink-ball Test match against Bangladesh at Eden Gardens next month. The Mumbai batsman made a stunning start to his career as a Test opener against South Africa earlier this month.
“I am very excited as it is the first time [India is playing a pink-ball Test]. I can’t say about others, but I played one match in Duleep Trophy with the pink ball and it was a good experience. The opportunity has come and will try to do well and win the game.”
He added, “I always try to do well, and for me, the thought is to not stop. My job is to keep performing and I see it that way. Be it Bangladesh or West Indies after that, or when we go to New Zealand [next year].”
Rohit refused to speak on the debate over MS Dhoni’s future. He said: “We don’t hear anything about these things [Dhoni retiring]. You guys [the media] make these things up.”