IND vs WI: 3 Young players who can be India’s next Test Captain: The list of players who have captained or been the deputy in charge of India’s test team has been increasing post the decision to remove Virat Kohli from the leadership post of the Indian test side. After Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma succeeded to the captaincy position in 2022 while Jasprit Bumrah was elevated to the test vice-captains role.
The initial word was Rohit Sharma’s appointment as the captain of the side was to prepare the young guys for the future. However, the plan doesn’t seem to have reached its desired result as the vice-captain’s position has seen various replacements.
Initially, the BCCI looked at KL Rahul as a worthy contender to lead the test side, however, his form deteriorated. Then came Jasprit Bumrah into the picture, but his fitness became an issue followed by Rishabh Pant, who suffered an unfortunate accident.
So, the vice-captaincy has always been under stress with new players coming in and now a fresh change has been made to the role as the BCCI announced India’s test squad for the West Indies series.
Recently, while Rohit Sharma retained his test captaincy, despite a dire failure in the ICC WTC 2023 Final, Ajinkya Rahane has been reinstated as the vice-captain of the side. The two stalwarts will resume their test duties with the IND vs WI two-match test series.
While some cricket experts seemed aligned with the BCCI’s decision to appoint Rahane as the vice-captain of the side, some reckon BCCI missed the trick and opportunity to groom a young player.
Former Indian cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar was disgruntled by BCCI’s move to not look beyond the traditional players for the leadership posts in the test side. The legendary cricketer believed that the West Indies series was the perfect setting to hand some responsibility to fresh blood.
“There is nothing wrong in having him [Ajinkya Rahane] as the vice-captain, but a missed opportunity to groom a young player. At least, tell a young player that we are looking at you as a future captain. So, he starts to think as a future leader,” Sunil Gavaskar said.
IND vs WI: Gill, Axar or Ishan can be India’s next Test Captain: Sunil Gavaskar
The cricketer-turned-commentator also named three young players who might succeed Rohit Sharma as India’s next test captain in the near future. He chose southpaw Ishan Kishan, all-rounder Axar Patel, and opener Shubman Gill to assume the role of captaincy in the Indian test team.
“One is Shubman Gill and the other is Axar Patel [as future captains] because Axar comes in leaps and bounds, he just gets better every match. Giving him the responsibility as vice-captain will make them think. So, these are the two candidates in my view,” Gavaskar said. “If there are others, somebody like Ishan Kishan, once he cements his place in the team. He can come in the reckoning as well.”
For more details head to BCCI’s official website.