Like many fans and former cricketers, Sunil Gavaskar is not happy with the BCCI Selection Committee. Selectors going back to Ajinkya Rahane as the vice-captain for IND vs WI Tests has not gone down well with the batting legend. He has called it a missed opportunity. He believes selectors should have groomed Shubman Gill or Axar Patel as the vice-captain instead.
“There is nothing wrong in having Ajinkya Rahane as the vice-captain, but a missed opportunity to groom a young player. At least, tell a young player that we are looking at you as a future captain. So, he starts to think as a future leader,” Sunil Gavaskar Sports Tak.
After an absence of 18 months, Ajinkya Rahane returned to the team for WTC Final. With Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul missing the match against Australia with injuries, he made it count.
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But scores of 89 and 46 and the absence of Iyer, Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah meant BCCI named him the vice-captain. It came at the expense of Cheteshwar Pujara who was dropped following a no-show in the WTC Final.
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Gavaskar said, the two-match Test series was an opportunity to groom Shubman Gill or even Axar Patel. The latter has done his best whenever he has got a chance.
“I have two players in my mind who should have been named the vice-captain. One is Shubman Gill, everybody talks highly of him and calls him the future captain. The second is Axar Patel because he comes in leaps and bounds. He just gets better every match. He analysed his game and improved a lot. So, these are the two candidates in my view,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
InsideSport earlier reported that it was Rahane is only a stop-gap solution until Pant, Iyer or KL return from injuries. However, Rahul is unlikely to get another shot at Test captaincy. Pant and Iyer are two potential candidates but their long-term injuries have derailed BCCI’s plans. Instead, it will be the South Africa tour in December when BCCI and the selectors will look at a new captain and a new vice-captain.
“If you give opportunity to a young player, then apart from his batting or bowling he starts to read the game and the opposition. He started analysing game and thinking about how the bowlers should target the opposition batters and what should be the ideal field placements. He can also go and talk to the captain and share his views. All these things help a youngster in improving his game,” Gavaskar added.
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