The split captaincy debate has been one of the long-standing discussions around Indian cricket, which began right from the time when MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli were sharing the responsibilities in 2014-2016.
Even in 2021, when Kohli let go of his white-ball captaincy, he was controversially asked to step down from the Test leadership role for the same reasons.
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However, come 2025, the Indian team management seems to have come to terms with the situations where the national side currently have Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav leading India as full-time captains in ODIs and T20Is, respectively.
Following Sharma's Test retirement, India will soon have three captains for the different formats. See what India coach Gautam Gambhir had to say about having multiple captains for the national team.
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Gautam Gambhir answers - one India captain for Test, ODI, and T20I format?
During an interview with CNN-News18, Gambhir emphasized the importance of managing the mental fatigue of the players and not putting too much on their shoulders, which could potentially even affect their performances.
"Ideally, as a coach, if you ask me — it is much easier to work with one guy. If you have one captain for all formats. This is, ideally, I am saying," he said.
"It never happens because you need to realize that in this day and age, you cannot have one captain captaining for 12 months a year," added Gambhir.
He also spoke about having one is the ideal scenario, but having two leaders is better for the players so they can share the pressure and play stress-free in the formats they don't lead.
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"You are playing 10 months of international cricket and then 2 months of IPL. The one who is leading India would definitely be leading his franchise. Imagine a young guy captaining the sides for a whole year — it is putting a lot of toll on his mental being and game."
"Ideally, it is one, but in this day and age, it is good to have two. That pressure can be distributed among two people, and the guy can relax when he is not leading the side," the Indian head coach concluded.