Reports: KL Rahul to be named vice-captain in Rohit Sharma's absence for South Africa Tests

India’s tour of South Africa will start with the Boxing Day Test at the SuperSport Park, Centurion. The Indian team is yet to travel to Proteas nation and is currently practicing in Mumbai. BCCI named Rohit Sharma the vice-captain of the Test squad while announcing the team, and now, he has been ruled out of the entire series after suffering an injury during one of the practice sessions.

In the absence of Rohit, the BCCI will have to name a new vice-captain for this series. According to a report published in The Times of India, KL Rahul is likely to be the new vice-captain for this series. He will be replacing Ajinkya Rahane, who was the team’s vice-captain and even captained the side against New Zealand in the first Test.

The report further stated that BCCI would not return to Rahane due to his poor performance in recent times, and he is not likely to get a chance in the upcoming series. Ravichandran Ashwin, one of the senior members of the team, is unlikely to be named vice-captain on overseas tours, as the team management generally doesn’t consider him in those conditions. Ashwin missed all the four Tests during India’s tour of England in August.

The cricketing fraternity has seen KL Rahul as the potential future captain. He was the Punjab Kings team captain in the IPL until the last season. Also, he captained the Indian team in a T20I against New Zealand in 2020. Rahul has also been named the vice-captain of India in T20Is so he could be a good choice for this role in Test matches too.

Who will be the other opener for India in South Africa?

Without Rohit in the team, the team management will have to consider other options for opening the innings alongside Rahul. Mayank Agarwal, who made a century in the second Test against New Zealand, is likely to be the first choice. BCCI has picked Priyank Panchal as the replacement for Sharma, but he is likely to get fewer chances than Agarwal.

The second Test of the tour will start on 3rd January at The Wanderers Stadium, Johannesburg. While, they will play the third one at the Newlands, Cape Town, on 11th January. The Indian team will also play three ODIs on this tour.