“Sab match dekhna chhod denge” - Twitterati express frustration as KL Rahul is named captain for 1st Test against Bangladesh
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named KL Rahul as India's captain for the first Test of the upcoming two-match series against Bangladesh. Skipper Rohit Sharma will be unavailable for the first match due to a thumb injury, while availability for the second Test is still uncertain.
Rahul led the Indian team in the third ODI against Bangladesh on Saturday, December 10. Although he was dismissed cheaply, the Men in Blue went on to win the dead rubber by 227 runs courtesy of brilliant knocks from Ishan Kishan (210) and Virat Kohli (113).
Rahul registered scores of 73, 14, and eight in the three-match ODI series, which Team India ended up losing by a 2-1 margin against the Bangla Tigers. Reacting to his appointment as India’s captain for the first Test against Bangladesh, several cricket fans on Twitter expressed their disappointment.
Some felt that he doesn’t deserve to lead the team. However, few did back him, pointing out that, being vice-captain, he is the natural choice to take over as a leader in the event of Rohit’s unavailability.
Here are some reactions from social media to KL’s appointment as India’s captain for the first Test against Bangladesh.
@BCCI Why KL rahul everytime?????? He had enough of chances.. dude have to play well a lot
@NBhagwath @BCCI He actually has a decent run in tests...stop mixing formats
@BCCI Yaar kl Rahul me aaplog ko kya dikhta h jo captain or vice captain bnate rahte ho....????
@BCCI Why KL Rahul as captain why not Virat ??
@BCCI KL must be having private videos of top officials....
@lastbencher070 @BCCI He is VC captain man so he is cap now... firstly do well in your life
@BCCI Why rahul ?
@BCCI So KL is leading our team means VK will score another century 😁😁
@BCCI Why @klrahul is getting chance in team and that to be as captain after repeated failure ?
And I think now #GujaratElections is over, so why jadeja is out of the team ?
Obviously he is fit as he was doing rally for his wife. So why he is not playing for team ? @BCCI @imjadeja
@BCCI Captain KL Rahul on duty😍
@BCCI Why can't u give at least test captaincy to Virat
@BCCI @BCCI agar tumne kl Rahul ko hi captain bana kar rakha na to sab match dekhna Chor denge
@BCCI Why KL without even performing for a long time. He is not even consistent. Instead bring back Prithvi to open the innings.
@BCCI Test match me Rahul ne Kya ukhada hai Jo usko Captain bana diya hai
@BCCI Don't know whts the plan to keep Rahul as capt as standby.. Does he fit into future capt whn he still doesn't have the batting credibility in pressure situations n big platform. It seems more of chalta hai attitude of bcci tht team is suffering n will cont
@BCCI People are watching games for entertainment. Indian cricket team play is no more entertaining. BCCI should know that if no fun then no money. Drop KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant. Already so many stopped watching #Cricket and started watching #FIFAWorldCup
@BCCI Kya din aa gaye KL Rahul ke jese Team India ke captain ban rahe hai
Rahul had earlier led Team India during the second Test of the series in South Africa at the start of the year. India went down in the match in Johannesburg by seven wickets.
Subsequently, he was also named captain for the ODIs after Rohit was ruled out. The Men in Blue ended up being blanked 3-0 in the three-match series. He also led India during the one-dayers in Zimbabwe, which the visitors won 3-0.
Pujara named as Rahul’s deputy for 1st Test against Bangladesh
Meanwhile, veteran batter Cheteshwar Pujara has been named vice-captain for the first Test against Bangladesh. Among other changes, fast bowler Navdeep Saini and all-rounder Saurabh Kumar have been picked as replacements for Mohammed Shami and Ravindra Jadeja.
The BCCI confirmed that both Shami and Jadeja have not fully recovered from their respective shoulder and knee injuries. In-form Saurashtra left-arm seamer Jaydev Unadkat has also been added to the Indian squad, while Bengal captain Abhimanyu Easwaran has been named as Rohit’s replacement for the first Test.
Team India's updated squad for Bangladesh Tests: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara (VC), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat.