Former India coach Ravi Shastri is against the idea of picking a
vice-captain in a home series as he feels it complicates the selection of
the best XI when the deputy team leader is not in form. Shastri also hinted
that Shubman Gill should replace KL Rahul in the remaining two Tests of the
Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. There has been a lot of
talk around India vice-captain Rahul’s prolonged lean patch. The opener has
scores of 22, 23, 10, 2, 20, 17 and 1 in his last seven innings. With the
young Gill waiting in the wings despite his stellar run across formats, the
pressure is increasing on Rahul. “The team management know his (Rahul’s)
form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching
someone like Gill,” Shastri said on the ICC Review podcast.”I always had the belief never appoint a vice-captain for India. I would
rather go with by best XI, and if captain has to leave the field, you’d
zero in on a player that can take over at the time, simply because you
don’t need to create complications.” Rahul, who was the designated
vice-captain for the first two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, has
retained his place for the final two games but is no longer Rohit Sharma’s
deputy.
vice-captain in a home series as he feels it complicates the selection of
the best XI when the deputy team leader is not in form. Shastri also hinted
that Shubman Gill should replace KL Rahul in the remaining two Tests of the
Border Gavaskar Trophy against Australia. There has been a lot of
talk around India vice-captain Rahul’s prolonged lean patch. The opener has
scores of 22, 23, 10, 2, 20, 17 and 1 in his last seven innings. With the
young Gill waiting in the wings despite his stellar run across formats, the
pressure is increasing on Rahul. “The team management know his (Rahul’s)
form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching
someone like Gill,” Shastri said on the ICC Review podcast.”I always had the belief never appoint a vice-captain for India. I would
rather go with by best XI, and if captain has to leave the field, you’d
zero in on a player that can take over at the time, simply because you
don’t need to create complications.” Rahul, who was the designated
vice-captain for the first two Tests of the Border Gavaskar Trophy, has
retained his place for the final two games but is no longer Rohit Sharma’s
deputy.
