On Friday, the selection committee of the BCCI announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series. While KL Rahul was appointed as the stand-by skipper of team India for the upcoming series, Jasprit Bumrah has been named as the deputy of the series.
Rohit Sharma, the newly appointed white-ball skipper of team India, has been ruled out of the upcoming series because of a hamstring injury. In his absence, KL Rahul will be leading the Indian cricket team for the series. However, it was the appointment of Jasprit Bumrah as the vice-captain has surprised many.
Not many saw this coming from the selectors, especially when Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer could be groomed for the future. However, as per the sources, the selectors have shared a message to both Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant to be consistent across formats to be considered for the leadership role.
The sources also revealed that Bumrah was rewarded for the position because of his consistent performance. The source said according to News18:
“Look, this is just for one series as Rohit (out injured) is almost certain to come back during the home leg against West Indies and Sri Lanka. Then KL will again become the deputy. However, the selectors wanted to reward Jassi (Bumrah’s nickname) for his consistency as well as cricket brain. That’s why he was picked ahead of Pant and Iyer,”
Meanwhile, former Chief selector MSK Prasad, however, felt that the selectors might not have named Bumrah the captain if Rohit and Rahul both were available for the series. He said that the fact that the vice-captaincy was for only one series, the decision must have been easy for the selectors. He said:
“Jasprit is a very sensible young man with a lot of rationality. So why not reward him? I like this decision as why can’t we make a fast bowler captain, If he is doing well in all formats? Unless you give him an opportunity to be a part of the leadership group, you won’t know what to expect of Jasprit.
But having said that, I would also say that possibly since it was a decision on vice-captaincy for one series, it was an easy call. Had it been for captaincy with both Rohit and Rahul unavailable, it could have been different,”
