Is split-captaincy the answer to managing Virat Kohli’s workload? Yuvraj Singh opines

Since the ICC World Cup 2019 concluded, rumours of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) introducing split-captaincy in the Indian team started to spread like wildfire. Rohit Sharma’s name was suggested by many for captaincy in limited-overs, considering the way he has managed Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Mumbai Indians, as well as the Indian national team on certain occasions. As far as former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh is concerned, the talk of split-captaincy should only come into picture if Kohli’s workload is a problem for the board.

Yuvi admitted that the fact that cricket has three full-fledged formats these days, it becomes difficult for a single player to lead the team in each one of them. Although Virat’s achievements as captain have already seen him surpass some of the greatest names in the game, Yuvraj believes Rohit could be tried in the shorter formats if the team management feels there’s a need to curb Kohli’s workload.

“Earlier there were only two formats so it was easy for a captain to manage. Now there are three formats, if the load on Virat is more than maybe they should try somebody else for the shorter formats. Rohit has been very successful,” Yuvraj was quoted as saying.

The Indian team is set to get into the T20 mode, considering the next two ICC events are both in the shortest format of the game (the 2020 and 2021 T20 World Cups). Amid such a scenario where the majority of the focus would be in the 20-over format, the board needs to have a clear plan as to how they see the Indian team shaping up in the coming one year.

“I don’t really know. They have to decide how much workload Virat can take. Do they need to try somebody else for T20? It completely depends on how they want to go for the future. Virat has been the best batsman. How to manage his workload? It is completely team management’s call,” Yuvraj added.

Although the split-captaincy question remains out of the picture as of now, even in the future it would take something catastrophic for the BCCI to consider giving the captaincy baton to Rohit in the shortest format.