'It would be a shame if he is not made the white-ball captain after this. Because there's nothing more Rohit Sharma can do.'
Former cricketers have backed Rohit Sharma to take on the captaincy of India's T20 team after he led Mumbai Indians to their 5th Indian Premier League title in Dubai on Tuesday.
Former England skipper Michael Vaughan reckons delegating T20 captaincy to Rohit would help reduce Kohli's workload.
"Without question Rohit Sharma should be the Indian T20 captain. Fantastic man-manager and leader and he knows exactly how to win T20 games. It would also give Virat chance to take a breather and just be the player. It's worked for all other teams around the world," Vaughan tweeted.
Mumbai Indians had earlier won the tournament in 2013, 2015, 2017, and 2019.
Rohit has won six IPL titles in total. He has won five as the leader of Mumbai Indians and won the title with Deccan Chargers under the leadership of Adam Gilchrist in 2009.
On Monday, Irfan Pathan had suggested that Rohit be handed the Test captaincy in the absence of Kohli, who will be on paternity leave after the opening Test during the upcoming Australia tour.
Rohit also received a vote of confidence from former India opener Gautam Gambhir to lead in the shortest format.
"If Rohit Sharma doesn't become India captain, it's their loss, not Rohit's," the former Test opener told ESPNcricinfo.
"Rohit has won five IPL titles, he is the most successful captain in the history of the tournament.
"It would be a shame if he is not made the white-ball captain after this. Because there's nothing more Rohit Sharma can do."
Gambhir, who led Kolkata Knight Riders to two IPL titles, said Rohit was a significantly better captain than Kohli in these formats.
"Why can't you have split captaincy? It's not a bad idea."
"I'm not suggesting Kohli is a terribly bad captain but both got the same platform and you can judge who's better. For me, Rohit Sharma stands out as leader."
Former India opener Virender Sehwag also described Rohit as "the best captain in the format" on Twitter.
“Ab to aadat si hai sabko aise dhone ki. The best T 20 franchisee in the world and the best captain in the format. Deserving winners, Mumbai Indians, koi shak.Amazingly well organised tournament despite various challenges. #IPLfinal.”
