KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma
KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma. Credits: BCCI

Indian T20I vice-captain KL Rahul is also likely to become the vice-captain of the team in the ODIs following the elevation of Rohit Sharma to captaincy.

On Wednesday, the BCCI announced that the selection panel had decided to officially appoint Rohit as the captain in ODIs, thereby giving him the reins in white-ball formats. Now that he is the captain, the vice-captaincy slot is vacant which is likely to be filled by Rahul, according to a report in TOI.

KL Rahul
KL Rahul. (Photo: BCCI)

It’s important to maintain a balance. The selectors are not for making drastic changes. But the team management and the selectors are keen on giving younger players more important roles going forward. Pant is definitely seen as an important part of the leadership group although Rahul is the frontrunner for the vice-captaincy in ODIs because he is already the deputy to Rohit in T20Is,” a source was quoted as saying to TOI.

Both Rahul and Pant were captains for their respective franchises in the IPL 2021 season. While Pant has been retained by Delhi Capitals (DC), Punjab Kings (PBKS) couldn’t keep their skipper.

As for Rohit, his record as the captain of Mumbai Indians (MI) inspires confidence in the fans and experts. Since India has failed to win an ICC event in the last eight years, the pressure will be on him to deliver but the Mumbaikar could well be the right man to lead in the white-ball formats.

KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma
Image: Twitter

His first assignment as the ODI skipper will be the upcoming South Africa tour where they will play a 3-match ODI series. The squad for the same hasn’t been announced yet but the Test squad was announced, where Rohit has been named as the vice-captain at the expense of Ajinkya Rahane.

Read More  RR vs DC Head to Head Records in IPL- IPL 2024, Match 9

India Test squad for South Africa tour:

Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj.

Also Read – Ravi Shastri Opens Up On Rohit Sharma’s Appointment As White-Ball Captain