Indian batsman Virender Sehwag has said he doesn’t want to lead the team and suggested that a new face be given the vice-captain’s responsibility, so that he can be groomed to take over the reins after captain MS Dhoni.

“I don’t want to be a captain, I have already told selectors about it. I have said that a new player should be made vice-captain and be groomed to be a captain,” Sehwag told Indian news channel News24. “I want that I should continue to score runs and keep winning matches for the team.”

Sehwag, 30, was appointed vice-captain in October 2005, with Rahul Dravid replacing Sourav Ganguly as captain. A dip in Sehwag’s form in 2006-07 resulted in VVS Laxman assuming the vice-captaincy responsibilities in Tests, albeit for a brief period. Sachin Tendulkar was appointed deputy for the 2007 World Cup before the position went to Dhoni soon after.

And it was only when Dhoni became captain in all three formats, the last being for Tests after Anil Kumble’s retirement in November last year, that Sehwag regained the vice-captaincy. But a shoulder injury for Sehwag in the lead-up to the World Twenty20 in June this year resulted in the deputy’s position going to Yuvraj Singh. However, Sehwag hoped to regain his fitness completely before turning out for the Delhi Daredevils in the Champions League, beginning on October 8.

Sehwag also considered Ganguly as the best leader he had played under. “Sourav Ganguly has been the best ever captain India ever had,” Sehwag said. “Sourav took over as captain of the India cricket team when it was going through a very bad patch. The Indian team was struggling to put come out of the match-fixing scandal. He had a responsibility to put together a new team and he did a splendid job.”

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