Opening batter Rohit Sharma was on Saturday (February 19) named India's permanent Test captain as the BCCI announced the squads for the upcoming T20 and Test series against Sri Lanka.
Rohit has been handed the Test captaincy weeks after Virat Kohli resigned following their series defeat in South Africa.
Notably, Rohit is now India's captain across all three formats after he was earlier given the white ball captaincy.
T20I
ODIs
... and now TestsSay Hello to #TeamIndia's all-format captain @ImRo45! pic.twitter.com/5rTNJrlYgm
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 19, 2022
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma's three-year-old tweet soon went viral after the batter was named the Test skipper. The opener had made the tweet on September 1, 2018, after being asked by a fan about a quote that describes him.
The tweet read, 'Throw me to the wolves and I come back leading the pack'.
Throw me to the wolves and I come back leading the pack
— Rohit Sharma (@ImRo45) September 1, 2018
Earlier on Saturday, Chetan Sharma, the Chairman of All-India Senior-Selection Committee said that the Rohit is the number one cricketer in the country.
"As far as Rohit Sharma is concerned, he is the number one cricketer of our country, he is playing all three formats of the game. The important thing is how we manage Rohit, cricketers manage their bodies. From time to time we will be in discussion with Rohit. If such a big cricketer is leading the country, we as selection committee want to groom further captains, and grooming them under Rohit will be tremendous," said Chetan Sharma during a virtual press conference.
The Rise of Rohit Sharma .
From struggling to cement his place in the test team to the captain of the team@ImRo45 | #RohitSharmapic.twitter.com/KESqPGi479
— PRAYU (@Sydney_133) February 19, 2022
Further talking about Rohit being named Test captain, Chetan said: "Rohit was a clear choice of ours, we are very happy with naming him as captain. We will groom future captains under him, let's hope everything goes right and if things pan out how we want them to, it will be really good."
"If Rohit keeps leading for a long time, then it would be really good for us. But no one can predict it, as long as Rohit is available and fit, he will be the Test captain. When he wants to rest, we will give him the rest," he added.
India's Test squad for SL series: Rohit Sharma (C), Mayank Agarwal, Priyank Panchal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas, Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, KS Bharat, Ravichandran Ashwin (fitness), Ravindra Jadeja, Jayant Yadav, Kuldeep, Jasprit Bumrah, Shami, Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Sourabh Kumar.
