Playing 11 of Indian captains and vice-captains since 2022 ft. Ravindra Jadeja, Ajinkya Rahane
It's hard to find a word to describe the relationship between Indian cricket and captaincy since the start of 2022. Ever since Virat Kohli relinquished his job in T20Is first and then Tests - while being replaced as ODI skipper in between - a host of players have donned the role for various reasons.
From a grueling schedule to unfortunate injuries and at times, the sheer lack of options, it's hard to count the number of players in the Indian men's team who have assumed the role of either captain or vice-captain off your fingertips.
This is not even a metaphoric statement, for there have quite comfortably been more than 10 names whom the selectors have appointed as captain or vice-captain even if it was for a solitary series.
This game of musical chairs has extended in the build-up to the 2023 World Cup too. Mind you, Rohit Sharma is very much the team's captain but having been rested alongside vice-captain Hardik Pandya for the first two ODIs against Australia, KL Rahul has been named skipper and Ravindra Jadeja his deputy.
And so, the story continues. The captaincy hat has changed heads as often as the Orange and Purple Cap do in the IPL. So much so that there's a possible playing XI of those who have been captain or vice-captain since 2022.
With that in mind, here's an attempt at that very exercise:
Openers - Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
Since his appointment as India's captain across formats, Rohit has missed the odd series either on account of rest or injury. He missed the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Birmingham last year having tested positive for COVID-19 while a finger injury ruled him out of the Tests in Bangladesh.
It's been a roller-coaster journey with leadership for Rahul, who was the captain in the aforementioned Tests in Bangladesh as well as during the tour of Zimbabwe earlier in 2022. He often stepped into Rohit's shoes and was the team's vice-captain until not long ago before Hardik Pandya pipped him in ODIs as well.
Incidentally, his first Test as captain was the Johannesburg Test against South Africa at the start of 2022 with a back spasm on the morning of the game ruling Virat Kohli out.
Middle order - Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rishabh Pant (wk)
This looks close to the batting order India have fielded in Tests bar with the exception of Suryakumar Yadav. Cheteshwar Pujara, who was dropped after the South Africa tour, returned in style with a bulk of runs under his belt in the County Championship.
He was elevated to vice-captaincy in Bangladesh while also standing in temporarily when Rohit was off the field in the Ahmedabad Test against Australia. And lo and behold, it was the veteran of over 100 Tests who reviewed successfully to bring Usman Khawaja's marathon innings on a benign pitch to an end.
Against the backdrop of his ousting as India's ODI skipper, Kohli led the team in the Tests in South Africa. He gave up captaincy altogether at the end of that series and has since played under a host of captains in this game of musical chairs.
Back from the wilderness on the back of India's injury list growing, Ajinkya Rahane made a mark in the World Test Championship final against Australia. He missed nine Tests between the series in South Africa - where he was stripped of his vice-captaincy - and this one at The Oval but returns of 89 and 46 were enough for the selectors to reinstate him in that role for the tour of the West Indies.
Post the T20 World Cup, Suryakumar Yadav has been a regular as India's vice-captain in the format. Expect him to continue in the role leading into the event next year as well.
Rishabh Pant was named India's captain for the five-match T20I series against South Africa that followed the IPL last year. It remains his only international captaincy gig to date while he was named vice-captain for the Birmingham Test as well as the white-ball tour of New Zealand later in the year.
All-rounders - Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja
Oh, the luxury of having batting depth of this kind! Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja slot in as the all-rounders at No. 8 and 9. Pandya has captained India in a number of T20Is even though he's never officially been announced as the full-time captain in the format.
He's now the vice-captain of the ODI setup too and has led the team in three matches in the format, while also being set to assume the role at the World Cup.
Ravindra Jadeja had a bad tryst with captaincy at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2022. A lot of speculation emerged at the end of it but there was a happy redemption eventually as he helped CSK to the title this year.
He was also named vice-captain for the ODIs in the West Indies before an injury kept him out of the rubber, with Shreyas Iyer appointed in the role.
Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah
Bhuvneshwar Kumar isn't averse to being India's vice-captain in a second-string outfit having assumed the role when the team toured Sri Lanka in 2021. He was appointed in the position for the tour of Ireland and acted as Pandya's deputy although post the tour of New Zealand, he was discarded altogether from the setup.
With Rohit and Rahul ruled out of the Birmingham Test, Bumrah made his captaincy bow and it remains the last game he has played in the format to date. Post a long-standing injury layoff, he returned as captain for the tour of Ireland last month although he was also the vice-captain for the ODIs in South Africa, as well as the entire home leg against Sri Lanka in the first half of 2022.
So there you have it - a playing XI of those to have assumed leadership roles at some point for India since 2022 and we've not even mentioned Ruturaj Gaikwad or Shikhar Dhawan. Or Dinesh Karthik, who led India in a warmup T20 against Northamptonshire last year.
If you're worried about the lack of bowling options in the side, well don't - as Rohit mentioned in jest when the Asia Cup squad was announced, it's perhaps time for him or Kohli to warm up and roll their arm over!
Playing XI of Indian captains and vice-captains since 2022: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah.
Are Team India guilty of rotating their pack around too much? Have your say in the comments section below!