'They haven't identified right man to replace Kohli': Vengsarkar blames selectors for not grooming future India captain

Former India batsman and BCCI chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar has pointed the selection committee – former and current – for failing to shape a player who could take over as captain after Virat Kohli.

After Virat Kohli decided to step down as India's Test captain, the big question surrounding Indian cricket at the moment is who's next. Certain names such as Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant have come up but none is certain. Rohit is the vice-captain of the Test team, but given his knack of picking up injuries, and the responsibility of leading in all three formats, the prospect of the 34-year-old taking up the role seems dicey.

Former India cricketer Dilip Vengsarkar. 

Then there is Rahul, who has captained Punjab Kings in the IPL and is set to lead the ODI team in South Africa in the absence of the injured Rohit. But as Sunil Gavaskar pointed out, Rahul lacks the luck factor which may not make him the obvious choice. Keeping the future in mind, Pant is the ideal candidate. He led the Delhi Capitals to the IPL playoffs and has age on his side. But his inconsistency in Tests might work against him.

Factoring the above, it is evident that for the time being, no name is certain to replace Kohli as captain in Tests. Weighing in on the topic, former India batsman and BCCI chairman of selectors, Dilip Vengsarkar has pointed the selection committee – former and current – for failing to shape a player who could take over as captain after Kohli.

"It has been caused over the years by the selectors' lack of vision in grooming a captain for the future. Like we groomed Dhoni, they just haven’t identified the right man to replace Kohli as a captain. I just couldn't understand why Shikhar Dhawan was named as the captain of India’s tour of Sri Lanka last year," Vengsarkar told Times of India.

Giving example of the time when he was in charge, Vengsarkar explained how the selection committee knew that with Rahul Dravid giving up, giving Anil Kumble the Test captaincy was a stop-gap arrangement, in order to groom MS Dhoni.

Dhoni officially took charge in late 2008 and would go on to become one of India’s most successful Test captains, leading the team to the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings for the first time. That vision is something today’s committee lacked and hence the BCCI finds itself in this predicament, reckons Vengsarkar.

"We wanted to give some more time to Dhoni before he took the Test captaincy. He was already the white-ball captain, and we wanted him to learn a few things by following Kumble closely. Kumble led India superbly in that period," he recalled.