Reports | Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah in line for India's T20I vice-captaincy

After Virat Kohli announced his plans to give up India's captaincy in the shortest format of the game, wicketkeeper batsmen Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and pacer Jasprit Bumrah have become the frontrunners in the race to become captain-in-waiting Rohit Sharma's deputy after the T20 World Cup 2021 in the UAE and Oman. 

According to the PTI, the BCCI is no hurry to announce India's new T20I vice-captain but theree possible choices have been made. 

One is Delhi Capitals skipper Rishabh Pant, who if his team wins IPL, will be the biggest contender.

"Pant is a serious contender but you can't rule out KL also as he is an IPL captain. The darkhorse will be Jasprit Bumrah," a BCCI source told PTI. 

KL Rahul, who had at one stage replaced Rishabh Pant in the eleven and behind the wickets in the white-ball formats, also leads the Punjab Kings (PBKS) franchise in the cash-rich IPL, while exploits of Bumrah for India and Mumbai Indians is known to all. 

On Thursday, Sunil Gavaskar had backed KL Rahul to lead the national side in future and pointed out that the captaincy doesn't affect his batting performance. The PBKS captain had amassed 670 runs at an average of 55.83 in the IPL 2020 season and topped the run chart. 

“It's a good thing that the BCCI is looking ahead. It's important to think ahead,” said Sunil Gavaskar on Sports Tak.

“If India are looking to groom a new captain, then KL Rahul can be looked at. He has performed well. Even now in England, his batting was very good. He has been performing well in IPL and 50-overs cricket as well at the international stage. He can be made vice-captain,” added Gavaskar.

“He has shown very impressive leadership qualities in the IPL. He hasn’t let the burden of captaincy affect his batting. His name can be taken into consideration,” said Gavaskar.