3 players who have been elected the vice-captain of India in T20 World Cup history
The ICC T20 World Cup is the biggest international T20 event in the world. The ICC introduced the competition in 2007, with South Africa hosting the first edition of the tournament. India Indian cricket team was the first to win the ICC T20 World Cup trophy. Here is the T20 World Cup winners list.
The international cricket governing body then conducted the T20 World Cup in 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014 and 2016. India could not win another trophy, but Pakistan, Sri Lanka, West Indies and England opened their respective accounts. In 2016, West Indies became the first team to lift the T20 World Cup title twice.
In a tournament like the T20 World Cup, the captain's job becomes very challenging. The best teams from across the world compete in this tournament. Also, the format is such that a team has to play matches every three or four days. The stakes are high and the captains have little time to revise their strategies in case the team loses one or two matches.
At that time, the role of the vice-captain becomes crucial. He contributes his bit to the leadership group and helps the captain with his opinions. MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli are the only two players to have been elected as captains of the India squad for T20 World Cup. Apart from that, the following three Indian players have been elected the vice-captain in the T20 World Cups.
#1 Yuvraj Singh - Vice-captain of India in T20 World Cup 2007 and 2009
As mentioned ahead, India won the inaugural ICC T20 World Cup in 2007. MS Dhoni was the captain of that team, with Yuvraj Singh as his deputy.
Singh proved to be vital in the team's triumph as he produced multiple match-winning performances during the competition. Since he achieved so much success in the T20 format, the selectors retained him as the vice-captain for the 2009 T20 World Cup as well.
Unfortunately, the duo of MS Dhoni and Yuvraj Singh could not help India retain their championship in 2009.
#2 Gautam Gambhir - Vice-captain of India in T20 World Cup 2012
Click here for the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 points table from qualifiers to finals.
Gautam Gambhir played a pivotal role in India's 2007 T20 World Cup win. Five years later, he led the Kolkata Knight Riders to their maiden IPL title. Later that year, the BCCI named him as the vice-captain of the Indian squad for the 2012 T20 World Cup.
India got eliminated in the Super 8 stage of that competition. Vice-captain Gautam Gambhir could not perform at his best with the willow as he managed only 80 runs in five matches.
#3 Rohit Sharma - Vice-captain of India in T20 World Cup 2021
India did not name an official vice-captain for the 2010, 2014 and 2016 editions of the T20 World Cup. Rohit Sharma will now play the deputy skipper's role in the upcoming edition of the tournament.
In the squad announced by the BCCI yesterday, Virat Kohli is the captain while Rohit is the vice-captain. Both Virat and Rohit will have leadership responsibility for the first time in the T20 World Cup history. It will be interesting to see if India can win the T20 World Cup 2021 this year.