BGT 2023 | Rishabh Pant is ideal candidate for post of vice-captain, remarks Saba Karim
Saba Karim thinks that Rishabh Pant will be the ideal candiate to be India's vice captain in Test cricket
|(BCCI)
Saba Karim has backed Rishabh Pant to replace KL Rahul as India’s vice-captain in Test cricket claiming he is the ideal candidate to do so in the future. Karim also claimed that the Indian team management has named a vice-captain yet as they are waiting for the return of Rishabh Pant.
India recently sacked KL Rahul as the vice captain of the Test side owing to his poor form in the Test matches throughout the year. He displayed an underwhelming performance in 2022 scoring just 137 runs from eight innings with an average of 17.12. After the development, there have been talks over the possible candidates who can replace Rahul and Saba Karim has also shared his take on the issue. Karim opined that Rishabh Pant is the ideal candidate to be the next vice-captain while also backing Ravindra Jadeja as another option.
"There is a reason why India haven't named a vice-captain. 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,” Karim said to India News,
"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.
Rahul has also failed to get going in the first two games of the series racking up only 38 runs from three innings with a disappointing average of 12.66. Karim also pointed out that the batter will not lose his place in the playing XI as India have been a dominant force in the series so far.
"The signal is very clear that he [KL Rahul] has been removed from the vice-captaincy because his performances haven't been up to the mark. However, this doesn't mean that he won't find a place in the playing XI. It's just that you can only be the vice-captain if you perform well. The advantage for KL Rahul is that India have been winning. Things would have been different had India been trailing 2-0. There wouldn't have been any hesitation in dropping Rahul from the team,” he explained.
