"Captain Spidy!"- Fans excited as Rishabh Pant set to become eighth T20I captain of India in IND vs SA 2022 T20Is

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Rishabh Pant will be pumped up to captain his country on his home ground. (P.C.:BCCI)

Rishabh Pant will become the eighth and second-youngest player to captain the Indian T20I team after Suresh Raina when the hosts take on South Africa on June 9. What's even more special is that Pant will be captaining the team on his home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.

The 24-year-old was initially named KL Rahul's deputy for the series. However, the 30-year-old suffered a groin injury which means that he has been ruled out of all five T20Is.

Having made his international debut in 2017, Rishabh Pant has become a regular for India across all formats. He has now taken a huge step ahead by becoming India's new T20I captain for the series against South Africa.

Fans on Twitter were excited to see Rishabh Pant being named as the Indian captain. Many believe he will only get better with the responsibility of captaincy and here's how they reacted:

Delhi Capitals

@DelhiCapitals

Rishabh Pant's first game as #TeamIndia Captain will be at #QilaKotla

#INDvSA

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Rishabh Pant's first game as #TeamIndia Captain will be at #QilaKotla 🇮🇳🔥

#INDvSA

Kaygee18

@Kaygee1803

Rishab Pant The Indian Captain!

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Rishab Pant The Indian Captain! https://t.co/rvZwWuRgsW

Mufaddal Vohra

@mufaddal_vohra

Rishabh Pant will be leading India tomorrow for the first time. An exciting series with new faces ahead. South Africa have a solid team as well, great series on cards.

1581

80

Rishabh Pant will be leading India tomorrow for the first time. An exciting series with new faces ahead. South Africa have a solid team as well, great series on cards.

Johns.

@CricCrazyJohns

Rishabh Pant will become the second youngest after Suresh Raina to lead the Indian team in T20.

956

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Rishabh Pant will become the second youngest after Suresh Raina to lead the Indian team in T20.

Manya

@CSKian716

Pant is captain so Lalit Yadav will replace Kuldeep and will bowl the 20th over of the innings. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…

BCCI

@BCCI

NEWS - KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav ruled out of #INDvSA series owing to injury.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series against South Africa @Paytm #INDvSA

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NEWS 🚨- KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav ruled out of #INDvSA series owing to injury.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series against South Africa @Paytm #INDvSA

Pant is captain so Lalit Yadav will replace Kuldeep and will bowl the 20th over of the innings. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…

Krishna Kumar

@KrishnaKRM

Dhawan, Rohit, Rahane, Kohli, Rahul, Pant and probably 1 more in Ireland.

7 captains likely in 12 months.

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Dhawan, Rohit, Rahane, Kohli, Rahul, Pant and probably 1 more in Ireland.

7 captains likely in 12 months.

shriya

@comeonrish

last intl match in delhi- crowd booes pant🥺
next intl match in delhi- pant is india's captain🥹

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last intl match in delhi- crowd booes pant🥺
next intl match in delhi- pant is india's captain🥹❤️ https://t.co/NacPoiTUCj

𝐏 𝐑 𝐀 𝐕 𝐈 𝐍

@LoyaLHitmanFan

Proud Ro.

Congratulations To Rishabh pant.

Captain Spidy.

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Proud Ro.❤️

Congratulations To Rishabh pant.

Captain Spidy. https://t.co/BRgRry3JB6

Prasen Moudgal

@Prasen_m4299

Rishabh Pant as India captain, now this is going to be quite SOME FUN!

#INDvSA

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Rishabh Pant as India captain, now this is going to be quite SOME FUN! 👌😍

#INDvSA

Delhi Capitals Fan

@pantiyerfc

Now you're looking at Captain Rishabh Pant!

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Now you're looking at Captain Rishabh Pant! https://t.co/08FQ1DTwlS

Rahul Pandey

@sportstoryguy

"It's a great feeling getting this opportunity (to captain the national team) in your hometown. It's a feeling I cannot express."

-India captain Rishabh Pant

#INDvsSA @IExpressSports

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"It's a great feeling getting this opportunity (to captain the national team) in your hometown. It's a feeling I cannot express."

-India captain Rishabh Pant

#INDvsSA @IExpressSports https://t.co/T007vmSqpS

hunny¹⁷ )

@starhunny_

Rishabh Pant will be leading the indian team for the first time in his home ground • Delhi, the place where his journey started. Best of luck @RishabhPant17 go well tomorrow #INDvsSA

23

Rishabh Pant will be leading the indian team for the first time in his home ground • Delhi, the place where his journey started. Best of luck @RishabhPant17 go well tomorrow #INDvsSA ❤

Chahal TV

@TvChahal

@BCCI @Paytm Rishabh Pant will lead the team ! Great

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@BCCI @Paytm Rishabh Pant will lead the team ! Great 😊

Johns.

@CricCrazyJohns

Rishabh Pant said "As a team, we have certain goals, World Cup is in our head - in coming days, we will see that there will be lots of changes in the way we play T20 cricket".

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Rishabh Pant said "As a team, we have certain goals, World Cup is in our head - in coming days, we will see that there will be lots of changes in the way we play T20 cricket".

Mohit Katta

@MohitKattaC1733

No way Iyer saab again ended up playing under Pant. Wonder which auction he'll go to now

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No way Iyer saab again ended up playing under Pant. Wonder which auction he'll go to now

Poojith

@Poojith91227500

untill now it was only us 8 DC fans , but now all of india will get a taste of pant's captaincy

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untill now it was only us 8 DC fans , but now all of india will get a taste of pant's captaincy

Saad Mohammed

@_saadmd__

Captain Pant.
2 fanbases crying

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Captain Pant.
2 fanbases crying😌

LAXMAN SINGH RATHORE

@laxman_vk18

From shouting mahi mahi when he drop catches to become captain of Indian team a inspiration journey of rishabh pant
Congratulations & all the best skipper @RishabhPant17
#rishabhpant #IndianCricketTeam

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From shouting mahi mahi when he drop catches to become captain of Indian team a inspiration journey of rishabh pant 👏👏
Congratulations & all the best skipper @RishabhPant17
#rishabhpant #IndianCricketTeam https://t.co/zzmPMFo98B

Aditya

@Adityakrsaha

Wow! this is huge for Rishabh especially when you have Hardik and Shreyas in the squad.

BCCI is clearly looking for the long-term choice in Pant once Rohit is retied. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…

BCCI

@BCCI

KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening.

More details here - bcci.tv/articles/2022/… #INDvSA

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KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening.

More details here - bcci.tv/articles/2022/… #INDvSA

Wow! this is huge for Rishabh especially when you have Hardik and Shreyas in the squad.

BCCI is clearly looking for the long-term choice in Pant once Rohit is retied. twitter.com/BCCI/status/15…

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How will India shape up under Rishabh Pant?

With both KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav out injured, it will be interesting to see India's lineup for the series. The selectors could give either Rahul Tripathi or Sanju Samson a go in the squad. However, it looks likely that Ishan Kishan will open the innings alongside Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Both these batters broke into the Indian team over the past year or so. However, they haven't gotten enough opportunities to cement their place or at least make a strong claim for the same. This series could well be a turning point for either of them as some good performances can elevate them to the next level.

Deepak Hooda is also likely to get a gig in the middle-order alongside Pant and Hardik Pandya. Dinesh Karthik will be another player who will want to make the most of this series to keep his T20 World Cup dream alive.

In the bowling department, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel seem to be the obvious starters. It will be interesting to see if Pant and Rahul Dravid want to try out Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik ahead of the already capped Avesh Khan.

Overall, it looks set to be a cracking series with both teams keen to build their T20 World Cup squad.

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