Reports: KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah in line for India's white-ball vice-captaincy

Amid the plenty of noise surrounding Indian team management and captaincy group, recent speculations suggest that three Indian players – KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah – are in contention for getting the T20I vice-captaincy. The entire episode comes in the aftermath of Virat Kohli’s announcement on Friday (September 16) where he clarified his intentions to not lead India in the shortest format once the T20 World Cup 2021 ends.

While who would take the role of the captaincy after Kohli steps down is not official, it is understood that Rohit Sharma, the current vice-captain in white-ball cricket, is the frontrunner. If indeed Rohit does get appointed for the role, his long-held spot of vice-captaincy would be up for grabs, with plenty of options being available for the BCCI to choose from.

“Pant is a serious contender but you can’t rule out KL also as he is an IPL captain. The darkhorse will be Jasprit Bumrah,” a BCCI source was quoted as saying by Cricket.com.

Virat knew that he would have been removed from white ball captaincy: BCCI source

A BCCI source in the know of things denied the claims of workload management being the reason behind Kohli’s decision.

“Virat knew that he would have been removed from white ball captaincy. If the team doesn’t do well at the UAE World T20, he was gone for good as far as white-ball leadership is concerned.”

“He just reduced a bit of pressure on himself as it would seem that he is there on his own terms. It might not happen for 50 overs if the performance in T20 hits a downward spiral,” he said.

Recent reports further claim that Kohli also wanted Rohit Sharma to be removed as India’s white-ball captain, with KL Rahul to be appointed in ODIs and Rishabh Pant in T20Is, due to Rohit’s age (34).

“This didn’t go down well with the Board which believes that Kohli doesn’t want an actual successor,” a Board source said.

“The problem with Virat is his communication. In case of MS (Dhoni), his room would be open 24×7 and players could just walk in, play the PS4, have a meal and let their hair down and if required talk cricket. Beyond the ground, Kohli is literally incommunicado,” a former India player,” a former Indian player stated.