From KL Rahul to Shreyas Iyer: 5 players who can take over as Team India’s vice-captain in T20Is

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KEY STORY

  • Indian cricket will be witnessing a paradigm shift once Virat Kohli finishes his T20 captaincy tenure post the World Cup in UAE this year, as the search for a new vice-captain has already begun. The post of a vice-captain, which is deputy to the skipper, holds a lot of weightage in cricket as this high-pressure game needs at least two brains for a team to work as a well-oiled machinery.
  • While Rohit Sharma has been the vice-captain of the Indian T20I squad under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, questions will now swirl as to who will take over the reins from the HItman. We take you through 5 such suitable vice-captain candidates of Team India’s T20I squad:
  1. KL RAHUL
The frontrunner to take up the vice-captaincy mantle from Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul is an exemplary batsman and his batting skills need no introduction at all. With an average of just under 40 and with 2 hundred and 12 fifties under his belt, KL Rahul has cemented his place in the Indian T20I squad. He has also displayed shades of good leadership when he took over the captaincy in 2020 in the second half of the 5th T20I between India and New Zealand. The swashbuckling batsman from Karnataka also has been the vice-captain of India when Rohit Sharma was unavailable in the T20I series between India and Australia in 2020. He also leads his Indian Premier League (IPL) team, Punjab Kings (PBKS).
  1. Rishabh Pant
Hailed as the future torchbearer of Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant has stamped his authority in Indian cricket as a stupendous batsman. His conviction and fearlessness have made him an indispensable part of the team off-late. Since Pant has been in the Indian set-up for quite some time and that he has captained his IPL franchise Delhi Capitals (DC) in the absence of Shreyas Iyer this season, we feel he can fill in the void of Rohit Sharma. DC are presently in the 1st position of the table and that speaks volumes of his incredible captaincy skills.
  1. Shreyas Iyer
Another terrific option as vice-captain of the Indian cricket team is compact and solid middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer. When Iyer bats, there is a blend of fearlessness and calmness and that has worked in favour of the team at most times. Shreyas Iyer is often tipped as the next Indian cricket team captain as he is the full-time skipper of Delhi Capitals and has been captaining the side since mid-2018. With 550 runs in 29 T20I games, the 26-year-old batsman can be a good vice-captain candidate of Team India.
  1. Jasprit Bumrah
It is not very often that bowlers become captains in cricket. However, the likes of Anil Kumble, Shane Warne and Lasith Malinga had thwarted that general notion. Jasprit Bumrah can actually serve as a good vice-captain as at a very young age itself, Bumrah has displayed tremendous maturity and has led the bowling pack too. He is a mainstay in the Indian team and his toe-crushing yorkers and economical spells are quite rewarding for the team.
  1. Hardik Pandya
The amount of carnage that the Baroda-based all-rounder of Team India can inflict needs no introduction at all. With his fiery knocks and impactful bowling, Hardik Pandya has time and again bailed India out of danger waters. He has been in the T20I squad of India since 2016 and he can definitely be roped in as the new vice-captain of India. With experience comes maturity and additional responsibilities and he can definitely serve well for India in a leadership role.

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