India vs South Africa 2018: Team India playing without a vice-captain

The Indian captain Virat Kohli is back leading the side after sitting out the limited-overs series against visiting team Sri Lanka. After a loss by 72 runs in the first Test in Cape Town, Team India will be trying to snatch a victory from the Proteas in the second Test; and they are already on it with the help of yet another brilliant century by the Indian skipper in Centurion.

However, for both the consecutive Tests, the Indian team has played without a deputy to captain Kohli, due to the absence of Ajinkya Rahane. Rahane is the designated vice-captain but thanks to the persistence of the skipper and cooperation of the selectors, Rohit Sharma replaced his Mumbai teammate in the middle orders because of his recent stellar performance chart.

The role of a deputy

For the casual onlookers, the position of a vice-captain might be quite titular and only seen in action if the captain is not playing for some reason, but the reality is far from this. A deputy captain’s role involves assisting his leader in all the tactical decisions that are taken on the field, including bowling and field changes.

What is the rule?

For the very reasons mentioned above, in such a situation where no official vice-captain is present on the field, the senior-most player in the playing XI is assigned with the official authority if the captain needs to leave the field, according to chief selector MSK Prasad, who is accompanying the team for the ongoing three-Test series in South Africa.

However, he also added that seniority is not the ultimate criteria in such a case. Thus, the captain can and should choose a team member he or she deems fit for the position.

Who is the best alternative?

In the current scenario, there are a couple of names who can be the ideal deputy, just in case need arises. Rohit Sharma, who is the vice-captain of the ODI and T20I sides, is definitely an option, especially after he led the team to victory in the recently concluded limited overs series against Sri Lanka.

On the other hand, Ravichandran Ashwin is another popular choice, as he has both the experience and the cricketing brain needed for the position. If seniority is taken into consideration, then Ishant Sharma should be the appointed one in terms of matches played (80) or Parthiv Patel, in terms of the number of years in the international circuit.

~Written by Anwesha Nag