Published: Jan 02, 2015, 12:44 PM (IST)
Edited: Jan 02, 2015, 01:06 PM (IST)
Media reports indicate that Ravichandran Ashwin and Ajinkya Rahane are in the race for vice-captaincy of Indian team in Test cricket. Ishant Sharma was also rumoured to have been appointed Virat Kohli’s deputy. Nishad Pai Vaidya examines the three options and weighs their chances.
MS Dhoni’s retirement from Test cricket has allowed the young Virat Kohli to take over the reins ahead of the fourth Test in Sydney. With Dhoni’s retirement and Kohli’s elevation, there is one spot that remains vacant i.e. the vice-captaincy. Kohli has been Dhoni’s deputy for a couple of years and has been prepared for the mantle. There was a sense of inevitability in Kohli taking over — it was only a matter of when rather than how. But, with Kohli leading a young team, with most members around his age, it isn’t easy to pick a deputy.
Media reports indicate that Ajinkya Rahane and Ravichandran Ashwin are in the race to become the Test vice-captains. Then, there was also a report about Ishant Sharma being a contender. Going by Bhuvneshwar Kumar’s official Facebook page, he has already secured the responsibility. Let us examine their chances:
Ajinkya Rahane: The Mumbai cricketer has arguably been India’s best batsman in 2014 with runs in South Africa, New Zealand, England and Australia. Rahane has shown good application and the hunger to convert starts into big scores. Temperamentally, he seems very calm and collected — qualities that could make him a perfect understudy to Kohli. However, he hasn’t been seen in any leadership role as such. Also, his body language isn’t as exuberant as Kohli, which may work against him for the appointment. As a leader, one has to exude confidence and Rahane only shows that once he gets his eye in and has settled in the middle.
Ravichandran Ashwin: The off-spinner is a shrewd thinker and has a good cricketing brain. In press conferences, he is articulate and insightful when asked tactical questions. He could be a good option as he can bring the tactical element into play. The only thing that works against him is the fact that he is yet to establish his spot in the Test side when India play away from home. He is a fixture when India play on home soil and is a dominant force. His performance in the Melbourne Test was encouraging and he could build on that in future tours.
Ishant Sharma: It would be a surprise to see him being appointed vice-captain. In fact, India should not thrust the responsibility on him. Being India’s most experienced seamer in the current side, having played over 60 Tests, he refuses to admit that he leads the pace attack. His argument is that the other seamers are in his age group. If he doesn’t want to accept that responsibility, why should he be given a larger one with a bigger group of individuals of the same age?
And why not Cheteshwar Pujara? The right-handed batsman has had a few tough Tests away from home, but has established himself in the side. He is very calm and has a very sound mind. He has captained India A on numerous occasions. The likes of Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Rahane have played under Pujara’s captaincy on a few tours. For Test cricket, it could make sense to hand him the responsibility, but again, he has to produce more consistent performances away from home.
(Nishad Pai Vaidya is a Correspondent with CricketCountry and anchor for the site’s YouTube Channel. His Twitter handle is @nishad_45)
