Former wicket-keeping batter, Saba Karim has said that the young Indian gloveman, Rishabh Pant is an ideal candidate for the post of deputy skipper in Tests when he returns from his injury. India is all set to face Australia at the Holkar Stadium in Indore in the third Test of the four-match Border-Gavaskar series.
During a recent chat with India News, Karim said everybody is waiting for Pant’s return, adding that he would be an ideal candidate to take over as India’s Test vice-captain.
Explaining the same, Saba Karim said, “There is a reason why India haven’t named a vice-captain. Everybody is waiting for Rishabh Pant to return. He is an ideal candidate for the post of vice-captain. He was being groomed too. We also need to consider who is going to lead in the WTC cycle that starts in two years.”
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Former gloveman went on to say that Pant and Ravindra Jadeja are the two frontrunners to become the deputy skipper, insisting that Jadeja has been subjected to injuries more often than not while Pant has always been fit.
Saba Karim explained, “If you ask me, there are only two candidates at the moment: Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja. However, the issue with Jadeja is that he has had some injury issues. Pant, on the other hand, hasn’t had any major injuries. This accident was quite unfortunate, but apart from that, he has always been fit.”
Saba Karim said it’s not necessary that KL Rahul will not be taking part in the Indore Test against Australia just because he was removed as the team’s vice-captain.
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Former wicket-keeper said, “The signal is very clear that he [KL Rahul] has been removed from the vice-captaincy because his performances haven’t been up to the mark. However, this doesn’t mean that he won’t find a place in the playing XI. It’s just that you can only be the vice-captain if you perform well. The advantage for KL Rahul is that India have been winning. Things would have been different had India been trailing 2-0. There wouldn’t have been any hesitation in dropping Rahul from the team.”
