Franchise titles don’t guarantee international success – Sunil Gavaskar on Rohit Sharma

India’s former legendary player Sunil Gavaskar has warned Rohit Sharma that franchise titles don’t guarantee international success. Rohit has been appointed as the new Indian captain in the shortest format of the game and he will look to take Indian cricket to new heights.

Rohit is the most successful captain in the Indian Premier League as he has led Mumbai Indians to five titles. The talisman is known to keep a calm head on his shoulder and he is expected to get the best out of his players.

The Little Master added that many players savor great success while playing at the domestic level and in franchise cricket but they don’t get the same success while playing at the top level.

Rohit has a good captaincy record in the T20I format as he has led the team on 19 occasions in the absence of Virat Kohli and the team has won 15 matches out of them.

“Rohit Sharma is absolutely ready to carry the baton forward. It is a new beginning for Indian T20 cricket under the leadership of Rohit,” Gavaskar told India Today.

Gavaskar believes it will be a different kettle of fish for Rohit Sharma to lead the Indian team as compared to leading Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

“Generally, a captain is only as good as his team. I know Rohit has won five IPL trophies under his captaincy but leading a national team is completely different to leading your state team or franchise.

“Just like a good first-class cricketer, he doesn’t necessarily turn out to be a great international cricketer. It goes to the captains also, no matter how many titles you have won for your state team or franchise, it doesn’t guarantee success at the international level,” Gavaskar said.

On the other hand, KL Rahul has been named as the T20I vice-captain. Rahul has been leading Punjab Kings in the IPL and he has done a decent job. Gavaskar added that the selectors are looking at Rahul as a future leader of the Indian team.

“KL Rahul has been marked as a future leader by the selectors. He has been the captain of Punjab Kings in the IPL and, above all, he plays in all 3 formats for India. I think Rahul playing in all three formats is the reason why he has been elevated to the role of vice-captain,” Gavaskar said.