India Should Make KL Rahul India Vice-Captain And Groom Him For The Future: Sunil Gavaskar

Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said that BCCI should now name KL Rahul as the new India vice-captain in T20I cricket and groom him as a future captain. This comes after Virat Kohli announced that he will be stepping down as the captain of the Indian national cricket team in T20Is.

Kohli shared a statement on Twitter while announcing his decision to relinquish the T20I captaincy after the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 which will begin on October 17 in the UAE and Oman. India is placed in Group B of the Super 12s round along with Pakistan, Afghanistan, and New Zealand, apart from two qualifiers from the first round.

This will also be the first and last time that Virat Kohli captains India in a T20I World Cup as MS Dhoni had led the Men in Blue in the world event in all editions from 2007-2016.

If India Are Looking To Groom A New Captain, Then KL Rahul Can Be Looked At: Sunil Gavaskar

Many are expecting Rohit Sharma to take over as the India captain after the T20 World Cup 2021, as there is one more T20 World Cup in 2022 to be played in Australia. However, Sunil Gavaskar opines that if Rohit takes over from Virat as captain, then BCCI should look at KL Rahul for vice-captaincy.

“It’s a good thing that the BCCI is looking ahead. It’s important to think ahead. 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,” Gavaskar told Sports Tak.

KL Rahul is currently the captain of the Punjab Kings (PBKS) IPL team and will lead the franchise in the upcoming second leg of the IPL 2021 in UAE. Rahul took over as PBKS captain from Ravichandran Ashwin in IPL 2020 and the team has performed decently but didn’t make it into the playoffs in the last edition.

“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.

Gavaskar’s words are logical given that Rohit Sharma, who has won five IPL titles with Mumbai Indians and led India to the T20 Nidahas tri-series win in Sri Lanka in 2018, is 34 years old. And Kl Rahul at 29, will be most suited to take over from Rohit when the time comes.

Also Read: BCCI Secretary Jay Shah Reveals That The Discussion Around Virat Kohli’s Captaincy Has Been Going On For The Last 6 Months