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India are currently leading the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia 2-0, with two more Test matches to be played. The two teams now head to Indore for the third Test. While India would like to continue their dominant run and qualify for the World Test Championship final, Australia will look to regain their lost touch after two rather one-sided encounters in Nagpur and Delhi.
The Indian squad for the last two Tests has been announced and no changes have been made. However, the missing vice-captain tag from KL Rahul's name is a hot topic of discussion among cricket pundits. The new vice-captain has not yet been named and, according to sources, captain Rohit Sharma has been given the power to elect his deputy.
Here are three reasons why India hasn't named a vice-captain yet:
#1 KL Rahul's prolonged lean patch
KL Rahul's form has been a cause of concern for a while now and calls for his axing are growing stronger with every failure. Former Indian pacer Venkatesh Prasad has been vocal about Rahul's inclusion in the first two Tests, calling it a case of favoritism. For the time being, the Indian team management has persisted with the 30-year-old but not many will be surprised if the former vice-captain fails to find his name on the team sheet for the Indore Test.
#2 Absence of Rishabh Pant
Rishabh Pant miraculously survived a car crash in December last year while on his way to his hometown of Roorkee. The injuries he sustained will take time to heal before he can resume playing cricket again. The dashing 25-year-old was the only Indian to make the ICC Test Team of the Year in 2022 and now with Rahul losing the job and age on his side, Pant would have been the front-runner for the Test vice-captaincy.
#3 Team management's long-term vision
Rohit Sharma is 35 years of age and probably has two or three years of cricket left in him. The team management will ideally be looking to groom a next-generation leader to replace Sharma after his retirement. For this reason, established players like Ravindra Jadaja (34), Cheteshwar Pujara (35) and Ravichandran Ashwin (36) are unlikely to be given the post.
