After the resignation of MS Dhoni, one thing that was on everyone’s mind is the name that will succeed Dhoni as the ODI and T20I skipper. Virat Kohli was the favourite for the role and was eventually handed over the captaincy.
Kohli was appointed as the skipper of the Test team in 2015 and was acting as the vice-captain to MS Dhoni in the limited-overs formats. Now that Kohli has been promoted as the captain, the void left by him as the vice-captain is yet to be filled as the Indian selectors didn’t name anyone as Kohli’s deputy.
Let us take a look at the players who could be the vice-captain of the Indian ODI and T20I side.
Honorary mention: MS Dhoni
Without a doubt, Mahendra Singh Dhoni is the greatest limited-overs captain India has ever produced. The wicketkeeper-batsman has led India to victory in a World Cup, Champions Trophy and World T20 and is the only captain around the world to achieve this feat.
Now that he has stepped down from captaincy, the selectors have appointed Virat Kohli as the captain across all the three formats. Appointing Dhoni as the vice-captain will be helpful for Kohli as the newly-appointed captain needs a cool head by his side in crunch situations.
Having an experienced guy like Dhoni will help Kohli in learning new things every passing day. The Delhi-born player himself revealed that he will be running to the former skipper for suggestions on the field and it won’t be a bad idea if Dhoni is handed the vice-captaincy in the limited-over formats.
If Dhoni is appointed the vice-captain, it will be a demotion for him, but knowing the former skipper, he might end up taking the role for the sake of the team.
#5 KL Rahul
KL Rahul has been one of the very few players who are a certainty in the Indian playing XI across all the three formats. If the selectors are looking for a young blood to be Kohli’s deputy, there won’t be a better guy than KL Rahul and at the same time, this gamble can backfire massively.
The Karnataka batsman has never captained any professional side in the past and making him the vice-captain will add more responsibility on his shoulders which can affect his batting. At the same time, if he does well as a vice-captain, he can be groomed to take over the captaincy from Kohli when the skipper decides to step down from the role or hang up his boots.
#4 Suresh Raina
Suresh Raina is one of the two members in this list to have captained India in the past. Raina was hailed as the successor to MS Dhoni before the rise of Virat Kohli as the left-hander scored tons of runs in international cricket and excelled as a captain in the domestic circuit.
This made the selectors appoint him as the captain of the Indian ODI side that toured Zimbabwe in 2010. Raina was also touted as MS Dhoni’s protege as he learnt the art of captaincy from the man himself when the duo spent their days together at Chennai Super Kings and the Indian team. But, unfortunately for Raina, things turned upside down as he was dropped from the Indian ODI team due to poor form.
Raina is not a part of the Indian ODI team for the England series but is included in the T20 squad. With the absence of Rahane from the shorter formats, it is likely that the southpaw will don the vice-captain hat for the three-match T20Is against England. There are also possibilities that Raina might continue to be Kohli’s deputy in the T20 format and someone else might get the nod for the ODIs.
#3 Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane is the second member of this list to have captained the Indian cricket team in the past. Rahane was named the captain during India’s tour of Zimbabwe in 2015 and created history by becoming the seventh Indian captain to complete a whitewash in an ODI series.
Rahane is also one of the favourites of landing the vice-captaincy as the Mumbaikar acts as Virat Kohli’s assistant in the longer formats of the game. The one aspect that might put his fellow Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma ahead of him in the pecking order for the role is the Mumbai Indians skipper is a certainty in the Indian ODI/T20I XI while Rahane is not.
It will be interesting to see whether the selectors go in favour of Rahane as Kohli’s deputy in spite of not being a regular in the limited-overs team.
#2 R Ashwin
Those who follow Tamil Nadu cricket from close quarters will know how valuable R Ashwin can be as a captain of the team. It’s no doubt that Ashwin is a thinking cricketer who comes out with a plan B if Plan A is not going well.
The fans might have seen the 2016 ICC Cricketer of the Year doing this with the ball in his hand but the lanky off-spinner is no different when he has his captaincy hat on. He is someone who keeps sharing some ideas with his captain often.
Ashwin was the vice-captain of the Indian Test team when Ajinkya Rahane was ruled out of the last two Test matches against England last month. He is surely one of the top candidates to get the vice-captaincy baton from Virat Kohli when the latter goes on the lead the Indian limited-overs side.
#1 Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is the favourite to be named the vice-captain of India’s limited-overs side when he makes a comeback from the thigh injury he sustained in the fifth ODI against New Zealand. Rohit has all the qualities to become the captain of the Indian team and has shown it in the past.
Rohit has shown what he can do as a captain during the IPL and it is evident by the fact that he led his side, Mumbai Indians to victory twice and on both the instances, he rose to the occasion and led from the front to change the fortunes of his side from the brink of elimination.
He is only the third captain after MS Dhoni and Gautam Gambhir to win the IPL twice. Also, Rohit has fared well with the bat whenever there was a responsibility on his shoulders. With the kind of rapport Kohli and Rohit share, it will be surprising if the Mumbaikar is not appointed as the vice-captain.
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