Is BCCI awaiting Rishabh Pant's return to name him India's Test vice-captain? Saba Karim responds
Former Indian cricketer Saba Karim believes BCCI have not named a new vice-captain in Tests after sacking KL Rahul as the team management is waiting for Rishabh Pant's return.
FollowAfter KL Rahul's sacking, Saba Karim believes Team India hasn't selected a new vice-captain for Test matches because the management could be anticipating Rishabh Pant's return. The former Indian cricketer added that the star wicketkeeper-batter might also be India's next vice-captain in the red-ball format.
Karim emphasised that Pant had been preparing for a leadership role before suffering severe injuries in a deadly vehicle accident in December of last year.
Apart from Pant, the former cricketer-turned-commentator believed Ravindra Jadeja to be the only person qualified for the job. But he added that the all-rounder's issues with injuries could be a significant worry.
"There is a reason why India hasn't named a vice-captain," Karim said during a discussion on a popular Hindi news channel. "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," Karim added.
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In the first two Tests of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023 series against Australia, Rahul served as Rohit Sharma's deputy. Before the third Test, set to be played in Indore, the selectors fired him due to a streak of subpar performances with the bat. It remains to be seen if Karim's belief that BCCI awaits Rishabh Pant's return to formalise the next vice-captain in Tests comes true.
