"Waiting for Rishabh Pant to return" - Saba Karim on why BCCI hasn't named India's new Test vice-captain
Saba Karim believes Team India haven't named a new vice-captain in Tests after KL Rahul's sacking as the team management might be waiting for Rishabh Pant's return.
He suggested that the wicketkeeper-batter could very well be India's next vice-captain in the red-ball format. Karim pointed out that Pant was groomed for a leadership position before he sustained major injuries in a fatal car crash in December last year.
The cricketer-turned-commentator reckoned that apart from Pant, Ravindra Jadeja is the only other candidate suitable for the leadership position. He, however, stated that the all-rounder's struggles with injuries could be a major concern.
"There is a reason why India haven't named a vice-captain, Karim made these remarks during a discussion on India News Sports. "Everybody is waiting for Rishabh Pant to return. He is an ideal candidate for the post of vice-captain. He was being groomed too. We also need to consider who is going to lead in the WTC cycle that starts in two years.
"If you ask me, there are only two candidates at the moment: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the issue with Jadeja is that he has had some injury issues. Pant, on the other hand, hasn't had any major injuries. This accident was quite unfortunate, but apart from that, he has always been fit."
Notably, Rahul was Rohit Sharma's deputy for the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. A string of poor performances with the bat led to the selectors removing him from the post ahead of the third Test, scheduled to be played in Indore.
"You cannot write off a player like KL Rahul this soon" - Rajkumar Sharma
In the aforementioned discussion, Virat Kohli's childhood coach Rajkumar Sharma stated that it wouldn't be fair to write off a proven campaigner like KL Rahul after a few failed outings.
He also suggested that dropping Rahul would create a sense of insecurity within the dressing room. Sharma reckoned that while Shubman Gill has been in spectacular form, he will still have to wait for his turn, adding:
"You cannot write off a player like KL Rahul this soon. We can sympathize with Shubman Gill, and I want him to get a chance. However, he will have to wait for his turn. Once the team management feels that we have had enough of Rahul, they can replace him with Gill.
"If they drop Rahul, it will bring a sense of insecurity within the team as players might feel they will be dropped after a couple of bad innings."
Saba Karim also echoed the same sentiments as Sharma, suggesting that head coach Rahul Dravid's priority is to create a secure environment. He also pointed out that the team management wants to give players enough chances before taking a call on their future.
"Since Rahul Dravid became the head coach, the team management has focused on creating a secure environment," he elaborated. "This is why we have seen that every player has had a lot of opportunities. It happened with the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane as well."
What went wrong with the promising superstar KL Rahul? 🤯
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Rahul came under the scanner after failing to fire in the first two Tests of the ongoing series. The right-handed batter has mustered just 38 runs from three innings at an underwhelming average of 12.66.