Former India batter turned commentator Mohammad Kaif questioned the Indian selectors for sacking Indian wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain of India’s Test team as well. Notably, Pant was removed from the position before the team’s one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. He also added that Pant deserved to be the vice-captain, considering his consistent performances in red-ball cricket. However, he also stated that his white-ball form cannot be a reason behind him losing the Test vice-captaincy to KL Rahul as well.
Kaif said in his recent YouTube video: “I still don’t understand why he was removed as the vice-captain. There’s a big difference between white-ball and Test cricket. The problem is that we connect the two. Many players have gone ahead of him in white-ball cricket, but there is nobody close to him in Tests.
“Removing him from vice-captaincy is beyond my understanding. He deserves to be the vice-captain in Tests. He got the captaincy against South Africa when Shubman Gill got injured. We judged from just one Test match that he is not good at captaincy,” he explained.
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However, he also applauded Rishabh Pant’s half-century in the Galle Test. He added that Pant’s brisk knock gave India enough time to bowl out Sri Lanka in the fourth innings as well.
“A few people questioned Rishabh Pant’s form. But his knock in India’s second innings is another example that Rishabh Pant is the most impactful batter in Test matches. Indian team got the chance to bowl more overs because of his brisk knock. Even if overs had been reduced due to rain, because Rishabh Pant scored quickly, India would have had some more time,” he shared.
“He has fallen behind in white-ball cricket and could not score a lot of runs in the IPL. He needs to up the graph in white-ball cricket. He will have to start all over again. IPL has a big impact on white-ball cricket, and his bat has been quiet for the last two years,” Mohammad Kaif concluded.
