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‘How come he’s not considered for captaincy?': Ex-India selector on Rahane as vice-captain, says Jadeja deserves chance
After top-scoring for India in the WTC final, Rahane was reappointed as the vice-captain of the Test side for the West Indies tour.
In a world where the likes of Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill are busy ruling the roost, it's tough to be Ajinkya Rahane. After staging a remarkable turnaround to become one of the impactful batters in the IPL, Rahane first earned a call-up to the Indian side for the WTC final and then was reappointed as the vice-captain of the Test side for the West Indies series following his gutsy show in the summit clash. Even though legendary cricketer Sunil Gavaskar welcomed Rahane's elevation, the former India skipper admitted that India missed an opportunity to groom a young player by naming him vice-captain.
Not too long ago, Rahane was not even in consideration for India's Test squad. The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) star was snubbed for the home series against Sri Lanka last year. He was sacked from the vice-captain's position in 2021. Deemed surplus to requirements, Rahane raised his stocks in domestic cricket and a fruitful season with CSK helped him stage his comeback to international cricket. The veteran batter emerged as the leading run-getter for India in the World Test Championship final against Australia.
'How come Jadeja is never spoken about as a leader?'
Though Rahane has returned as the deputy, former Indian cricketer Saba Karim has questioned the appointment of the senior batter for the West Indies series. Interestingly, the former India cricketer and full-time cricket pundit feels the Indian think tank should have picked 'irreplaceable' Ravindra Jadeja or young Shubman Gill as Rohit's deputy for the Test series against the West Indies.
"I don't know why people don't even talk about Ravindra Jadeja. He's a regular in all formats for the Indian side when he has had major contributions in India's test success also. So how come he's never spoken about as a leader? He's irreplaceable in all three formats for the national side and he's equally capable of leading the national side. Or if not him then maybe Shubman Gill if the Indian selectors thought that he is the future. I am just saying, there are some candidates," Karim told Sportskeeda.
‘Why would you go back to Rahane?’
Jadeja put Australia to the sword in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy and the veteran all-rounder also had a title-winning season with MS Dhoni's CSK in the IPL 2023. The Indian southpaw has also captained Dhoni's CSK in the world's richest T20 league. Karim not only slammed the selectors for not considering Jadeja for the job of vice-captain, but the ex-India cricketer also urged the Indian think tank to groom youngsters who can take over the captaincy reins from Rohit in the coming years.
“When you're looking at transition, when you pick youngsters like Yashavi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad, then why would you make Ajinkya Rahane the vice-captain. What is the logic behind it? He made a comeback after being dropped from the Test side. He played one Test match. He did well, that is perfectly fine. But if you're looking for the future, if you want to build a side, if you want to groom a cricketer, then why would you go back to Ajinkya Rahane? I mean, with due respect to him and his capabilities as a leader, we need to look at grooming a youngster who could have taken over from Rohit Sharma in times to come,” Karim added.
