KL Rahul elevated as India Test vice-captain
The opener from Karnataka, made an impact as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner to help India lead 2-1 in the England Test series earlier this year on his comeback after a two-year gap
India opening batsman KL Rahul was named the Test vice-captain on Saturday, stepping up for Rohit Sharma, who has been ruled out of the three-match series starting on December 26 due to a hamstring injury. “The All-India Senior selection committee has named KL Rahul as vice-captain for the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa,” a BCCI statement said.
Rahul is one of the few all-format batters in the side and gets the nod as skipper Virat Kohli’s deputy above senior batters Ajinkya Rahane—he was replaced by Rohit Sharma as vice-captain before the injury—and Cheteshwar Pujara as well as wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant.
Rapid changes have been made to the Indian cricket leadership, starting with Kohli giving up his T20 captaincy and then being stripped of the ODI post with Sharma handed captaincy in the white-ball formats.
The elevation is another feather to Rahul’s cap. The Karnataka batter will also be vice-captain for the ODI series that will follow the Test, having recently been appointed to that role in the white-ball teams. Rahul led Punjab Kings in IPL for the last two seasons and is a frontrunner to captain the new Lucknow franchise next year.
In Test cricket, Rahul’s elevation marks a stunning reversal in fortunes. He was out of the team for nearly two years until the England tour in August-September, where he delivered excellent opening partnerships with Sharma after Shubman Gill was ruled out of the series due to injury. Rahul’s superbly paced 84 in the drawn Nottingham Test was followed by a match-winning 129 at Lord’s.
He aggregated 315 runs in the series, batting with admirable composure, though he will have to play a solid role as batter with the seasoned Sharma absent. Rahul, who made his debut in 2014, has played 40 Tests, scoring 2,321 runs at an average of 35.2 with six centuries.
Rahul has played two previous Tests in South Africa, with limited success. But he has no perceptible weakness against the short ball, a weapon that could be used frequently by the home quicks on the hard, bouncy tracks there. Rahul will open with state-mate Mayank Agarwal, who is back in form having struck a dominating hundred in the Mumbai win over New Zealand.
BEYOND RAHANE-PUJARA
By promoting the 29-year-old Rahul, the selectors seem to have sent a message to Rahane and Pujara, both struggling for batting form and under pressure to perform on the tour. Rahane, who has played 79 Tests but only averages 19.57 in 12 Tests this year, had sat out the Mumbai game due to a niggle. Sharma was named vice-captain only for him to suffer the injury during a pre-tour net session in Mumbai. Pujara, with an experience of 92 Tests, has also been short of runs, averaging only 27.38 in the past two years. His last century came in January, 2019, against Australia at Sydney. Pujara was Rahane’s deputy on the 2020-21 Test series in Australia when India rallied to series triumph after losing the first Test and Kohli, who returned home on a paternity break.
India, who reached the rainbow nation on Thursday, spend a day indoors as part of quarantine, but had nets on Saturday at the SuperSport Park, venue for the first Test. A video clip on the BCCI website showed the members playing a game of foot volleyball with head coach Rahul Dravid also participating.
