'If anyone else was made, you would have called that move even more premature': Butt on India's vice-captaincy role
IND vs SA: Speaking on the issue of the vice-captaincy role in Team India, former Pakistan skipper Salman Butt shared his views.
India's KL Rahul has had extremely eventful last months, to say the least. From showcasing stellar form in IPL 2021 and finishing T20 World Cup 2021 as India's highest run-scorer to being named vice-captain for the India-South Africa Test series, the swashbuckling right-hander is enjoying a steep rise. And add to the list Rahul becoming captain in the second Test at Johannesburg in absence of unfit Virat Kohli. Numerous experts and pundits have commented on BCCI's decision to hand him added responsibilities in such a short span of time and the latest person to join the bandwagon is Salman Butt.
Former Pakistan skipper Butt, while speaking in a video on his Youtube, was asked by a viewer whether the board rushed Rahul into the vice-captaincy. In response, he quipped:
"The thing is that India are looking at their current options, thinking about long-term future and looking at those players who are performing well currently and can captain the team in the future. So, I believe only after looking at all this, they have given him the role.
Moreover, [Virat] Kohli left white-ball captaincy by his own choice. Hence, he wasn't going to be made vice-captain. Hence, with Rohit Sharma, it was always going to be KL Rahul. If anyone else was made, then you would have called that move even more premature."
Karnataka player Rahul had a tough debut as Test captain as the visitors lost the 2nd Test by 7 wickets to allow the hosts to level the series at 1-1 ahead of the third and final game in Cape Town.
Incidentally, this was India's first loss to the Proteas in Tests at the Wanderers. India had taken on SA five times in the whites prior to this game, winning two and playing out a draw on three occasions.
The third Test begins on Tuesday, January 11.
