It is not any Tom, Dick and Harry's job to captain the Indian team. He has to face the pressure of more than a billion people, who expect the team to win each and every match; else a stone may be pelted at the captain’s house, threatening the player’s family, as it has happened in the past. If he wins matches, he will be treated like a god. This is Indian cricket fans for you.

Experience is an important tool for any player to captain the national side. But Dhoni, against all odds did not have much experience, when he took up the Indian team captaincy, as he was recommended by Sachin Tendulkar. The Indian selectors, if the need arises, might not go in for an inexperienced player, as they need to think for the long run. Hence, let’s look at the options that we are currently left for the prestigious job. We may not be able to find any player who wins cent percent votes if a voting would have been done or a poll would have been conducted.

The senior players in the squad will not even be considered for captaincy, as they are at the fag end of their career. Who knows, if some of the senior pros may be playing their last series in Australia at present. Players such as Sachin, Dravid, and Laxman are past their best so they should not be considered which is a debateable topic.
 
So other players who stand a chance are Sehwag, Gambhir, Kohli and Zaheer Khan. Other players of the Indian team lack experience to come and lead the side. Gambhir has been playing at the international level for some time now. But he has not been playing consistently for India, hence, he first needs to cement his place with some solid performances, if he wants the Indian team captaincy. Kohli may stand a great chance, as he is one of the upcoming youngsters who have proved himself at the international level in the ODI arena, but not the Test matches. Still, he could be a huge risk with the Indian captain’s cap, as he has a problem with his attitude and might not be the right person in the dressing room to carry the Indian Cricket team torch.

If we look at the Indian team captains from the recent past, there has not been any Indian bowler apart from Anil Kumble who has captained the side. Hence, Zaheer’s chance can be concluded from the history of recent Indian captains, who are all batsmen. Players such as Dravid, Ganguly, Dhoni, Tendulkar, and Azharuddin have been batsmen. But if the selectors see something great in this lad, who has given his best in Indian colours, he could spring a surprise. His injuries might be another big recipe for debate, if he becomes the Indian captain. In spite of the below par performances that have been shown by Sehwag, he might get the chance to lead India, as he has covered up for MS Dhoni in his absence for previous matches. He might be given the captaincy, just because he is the current vice captain of the Indian team and not for any strong reason. Hope, such a time does not arise in Indian cricket, when they do not have any player of a captainship material, but still he does so because he is asked to do so. It would generally be a big let down for Indian cricket.
 
We can conclude that the Indian team do not have a strong contender, who is of captainship material, at the moment. The BCCI needs to zoom into a player who fits the bill perfectly, so as to make him ready when Dhoni decides to calls it quit on Test matches. They have to look into youngsters, as it is the only way to move forward. It is time for the BCCI and the Indian selectors to wake up.