The BCCI has sacked KL Rahul as the vice-captain of the Test team following his below-par run over the past year. As per the sources, the power is now given to Rohit Sharma to decide who will lead the side in case he has to leave the field in the last two Test matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2023.
The Indian Cricket Board didn’t release any official statement regarding the sacking of a leadership role from KL Rahul, but the decision was conveyed rather indirectly as the Indian squad for the last two Test matches was announced without any vice-captain.
KL Rahul’s form has been a talking point as many other players are not getting chances despite performing well in domestic cricket. He had been receiving immense criticism from fans and experts. After being given the vice-captain role, he has managed to score just one fifty in his last seven Test matches, with his average dropping below 20.
Captain Rohit Sharma seemed to be displeased at the non-striker’s end after his dismissal in the initial Test match against Australia. However, he has the backing of head coach Rahul Dravid going by his post-match comments:
“I think he needs to trust his processes. This is just a phase, he has been one of our most successful overseas openers. He’s got hundreds in South Africa and England, we’ll continue to back him.”
Sacking vice-captaincy from him is seen as the initial step to drop him from the squad, which could also open up a place for Sarfaraz Khan, Priyank Panchal and Abhimanyu Easwaran, who have been performing excellently at lower levels of cricket, such as Ranji Trophy.