"Rohit Sharma's real test as captain will be in SENA countries" - Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma 

Team India showcased stunning form during the recently-concluded home ties against West Indies to clinch both the ODI and T20I series under new captain Rohit Sharma.

However, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma believes that Rohit's ultimate Test as captain will come in overseas conditions. Speaking on the YouTube channel Khelneeti, Rajkumar Sharma underlined that India have always been a force to reckon with at home. He opined that the team's performance in SENA countries will be the right parameter for evaluating Rohit Sharma's captaincy.

He pointed out that Rohit has had a stunning start to his stint as skipper and he wants the 34-year-old to replicate the same in overseas assignments as well.

Rajkumar Sharma said:

"Sharma's real test will be in SENA countries. Even the strongest teams struggle when they come to India. An Indian captain is often judged on the number of matches and series he wins in SENA countries. Sharma's tenure has started on a brilliant note and the team has done well under him so far. I hope he leads the team like this in overseas conditions as well,"

Sri Lanka are scheduled to tour India for a three-match T20I series, followed by a two-match Test series from February 24 to March 16. The Test series will be Sharma's first assignment as India's red-ball skipper.

"You cannot try to groom 4-5 players at once for the captaincy" - Rajkumar Sharma

The national selectors have handed vice-captaincy opportunities to the likes of Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah in recent times. Sharma feels that trying to groom so many players for captaincy may not be the right approach.

He suggested that the team management must identify a single player for the role so that they can give him a long run under Rohit Sharma. He cited the example of Virat Kohli, who served as MS Dhoni's deputy for a long time before taking over the captaincy reins from him.

He added:

"You cannot try and groom 4-5 players at once for the captaincy. Virat Kohli remained the vice-captain for a long time under MS Dhoni and got to learn a lot from him. Similarly, you need to choose a player who you think can play for India for a long time in all three formats. If you are appointing three vice-captains for three formats, then you should have three different captains who can groom them."

It is worth mentioning that senior pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been appointed as Rohit Sharma's deputy for both the rubbers against Sri Lanka.

Team India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Sanju Samson (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan.

Team India's Test squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin (subject to fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav and Sourabh Kumar.