"Bigger low than getting dumped out of Asia Cup" - Fans react to KL Rahul leading Team India in Rohit Sharma's absence

KL Rahul will lead Team India in his first T20I as captain against Afghanistan in their final game of the 2022 Asia Cup in Dubai on Thursday (September 8).

Full-time captain Rohit Sharma has decided to take a break with two big series against Australia and South Africa coming up and the T20 World Cup taking place later this year.

The Men in Blue and Afghanistan have already been knocked out of the Asia Cup as both teams have failed to register a win in the Super Four phase. However, this is a crucial game for Team India, with questions being raised about the positions of KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant in the squad for the T20 World Cup.

Fans on Twitter were surprised to see Rahul lead the team in Rohit Sharma's absence. Some also trolled Sharma for asking for a break despite being rested over the past few months. Here are some of the reactions:

Things were going so well when KL Rahul wasn't part of the t20i team

kl rahul: we wanted to bat first,want to challenge ourselves. hmm

kl rahul: we have learnt few things from loses. hmm

Rohit Sharma Dropped or Scared ..
To be very Honest Indian captain have never Rested in Tournament 😂 Again creating History #AsiaCup2022 #AsiaCupT20 ... Or Maybe #SackRohit worked 🤣 https://t.co/gCMxOxLwo2

KL Rahul is heading out to the middle to toss. Rohit Sharma rested? Niggle? @INDvAFG #AsiaCup

KL rahul leading us is a bigger low than getting dumped out of Asia Cup. You cannot a passive, clueless, negative body language-ridden, underachieving guy captain of the Indian Cricket Team.

After all the calls for dropping KL Rahul, he turns up as captain in the final game of Asia Cup. What a legend! #AsiaCup2022

KL Rahul to captain. Now bring Pujara and Rahane in RSD can re-create RCB ‘08

KL Rahul said "while playing for Pbks all these years, I am used to performing in dead rubbers"

'Rohit wanted to take a break' - KL Rahul 🤧🤧

Captains changed in Hitman's ERA

• Shikhar Dhawan
• KL Rahul
• J Bumrah
• Rishabh Pant
• Hardik Pandya

India out of Asia cup in league stage, still don't know best 11.

Youngsters still not getting chances.

This is new ERA of Indian cricket under Rohit's captaincy.

Mohammed nabi came with orange cap after knowing KL Rahul is captaining India today https://t.co/xWqSyRiUb3

Kl pant torture continues . 58th match. Hmm.

Can't understand this stubborn obsession of the Indian men's team to have KL Rahul as the captain over Hardik Pandya. I know seniority, vice captain blah blah blah...

KL Rahul might be under a bit of pressure against Afghanistan

Rahul had to undergo surgery for a groin injury after IPL 2022. His comeback to the Indian team was delayed after he tested positive for COVID-19 just before the T20I against West Indies.

Quite a few eyebrows were raised when the 30-year-old was named India's vice-captain for the Asia Cup. Questions were also asked after Rahul had a poor series with the bat against Zimbabwe.

The Indian vice-captain hasn't had an impressive outing in the Asia Cup. This is why his performance against Afghanistan is crucial, with the T20 World Cup squad set to be announced in the next few days.

Lineups:

India XI: KL Rahul (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Deepak Chahar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh.

Afghanistan XI: Rahmanullah Gurbaz (wk), Hazratullah Zazai, Ibrahim Zadran, Karim Janat, Najibullah Zadran, Mohammad Nabi, Azmatullah Omarzai, Rashid Khan, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Fareed Ahmad Malik, Fazalhaq Farooqi.