NEW DELHI: Former pacer Ajit Agarkar reckons the biggest challenge for India's new white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma is to remain fit ahead of T20 and ODI World Cup scheduled over the next 24 months.
Rohit was appointed skipper after Virat Kohli stepped down as captain from T20Is and was removed from the leadership role in ODIs.
“I think it's a good thing and the right thing to do - to have one captain for white-ball format and now Rohit actually can fly,” Agrakar said on the Star Sports.
With the T20 World Cup later this year in Australia and ODI World Cup next year looming large, Agarkar feels the captain should be present with the team, something he believes worked for former skippers Kohli and MS Dhoni.
“So, the challenge for Rohit Sharma – in my opinion - is to stay fit and play everything that is there, from now to the World Cup in white-ball cricket, because you want the captain – that was one of Virat Kohli's strengths or MS Dhoni before that, they rarely missed games, and both were very fit,” Agarkar said.
Rohit had missed the Test series against South Africa due to a left-hamstring injury.
He was subsequently also forced to skip the ODIs against the Proteas as he couldn't attain full fitness before the selection committee announced the team.
The hamstring has been a recurrent problem which also forced him to miss the first two Test matches as well as the white-ball leg of the tour of Australia in 2020-21.
However, Rohit is back in-charge for the series against West Indies that starts with ODIs in Ahmedabad from February 6.
