IND vs SA | Have to logically make Ajinkya Rahane vice-captain, says Aakash Chopra
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra feels that Ajinkya Rahane will be the logical choice as the Test vice-captain during the upcoming South Africa tour, with Rohit Sharma being ruled out with injury. He also marked Jasprit Bumrah or Ravichandran Ashwin as potential vice-captaincy candidates.
India are scheduled to play three Tests and three ODIs in South Africa, with the first of three Tests scheduled to begin in Centurion from December 26. The squad for the Test series has been announced and Rohit Sharma has been ruled out with hamstring injury. Rohit was named as the vice-captain in build-up to the series, replacing Rahane in the role, but his absence now opens up the prospect of an interim replacement.
Rahane captained the side against New Zealand in the first Test of the home series recently in the absence of regular skipper Virat Kohli, and had led the team to a 2-1 series win in Australia earlier this year.
Former India opener Aakash Chopra backed Rahane for the vice-captaincy role in South Africa, saying he is the logical choice for the post.
"Now you will not even know whom to make the vice-captain; is it going to be Ajinkya Rahane, or they will have to find someone else? You will have to logically make him the vice-captain because you had made him the captain just now in Kanpur," said Chopra on his YouTube channel.
Rahane’s form has been an issue of concern for India since the last few matches. He has managed just 411 runs in 12 Tests at an average of 19.57 this year. Also, Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari have been added in the squad for the South Africa series and both of them have shown good form in recent times. Chopra opined that Rahane can be the captain only if his place in the team is certain.
"If he was the captain in Kanpur and when the tour starts in South Africa and Rohit Sharma is not there, him (Rahane) being the vice-captain is absolutely certain. But do you see his place being certain in the team, you cannot make him the vice-captain today and drop him in the next match," he said.
Chopra further suggested that Jasprit Bumrah and Ravichandran Ashwin can be the possible choices for the role.
"I feel India will not announce a vice-captain at all; Virat Kohli is the captain; Rahul Dravid is the coach, you can manage between the two of you. Unless of course, you announce Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain. That is a possibility because he is a regular candidate,” he said.
"You can also make Ravichandran Ashwin because now there is no other spinner as well. If Ravindra Jadeja was there, we say that you don't play Ashwin overseas, but now there is Jayant Yadav and Ravichandran Ashwin, and you know who amongst those two will play.”
0
0
0
0
0
0
Comments
Sign up or log in to your account to leave comments and reactions
0 Comments