Was Hoping For Rishabh Pant To Be Named Vice Captain - Saba Karim

Former Indian wicketkeeper and selector Saba Karim has expressed his surprise as India have opted for Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain of the ODI side that will face South Africa instead of Rishabh Pant. Rohit Sharma has failed to recover in time for the ODIs from his hamstring injury and thus, the selectors named an 18-man squad on Friday with KL Rahul as the captain.

Saba Karim feels that since Rishabh Pant plays all three formats for Team India, he was more likely to get the nod of being a vice-captain for the South Africa ODIs. Here is what he had to say to India News.

“I was extremely surprised, I was not expecting Jasprit Bumrah to be made the vice-captain. I was hoping that Rishabh Pant had more chances to be made the vice-captain because he is also a multi-format player, he plays all three formats.”

Rishabh Pant’s performances as captain of the Delhi Capitals have been very good: Saba Karim

Saba Karim has no doubt that Jasprit Bumrah is a highly talented cricketer. However, he lacks the experience of being in a leadership group. Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has had the experience of captaining the Delhi Capitals team that made it to the playoffs last season. This is the reason why he feels Rishabh Pant should have got a nod ahead of Bumrah as the vice-captain.

“Pant’s performances as captain of the Delhi Capitals have been very good. We are seeing how he reads the match, he has a lot of game awareness. Jasprit Bumrah has the talent, his role is very important for the Indian team but he has not captained anywhere till now. So it is slightly surprising. I was feeling that Rishabh Pant was the first candidate as vice-captain,” Saba Karim concluded.

India have taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match Test series and will be looking to win the game at Johannesburg and seal a memorable series win.

Also Read: Ravi Shastri Recalls How He Planned Jasprit Bumrah’s Test Debut In South Africa