"Has Rishabh Pant fallen out of favour?" - Twitteratis react to Cheteshwar Pujara appointed vice-captain for 1st Test vs Bangladesh

Cricket fans have expressed mixed reactions to the BCCI's decision to appoint Cheteshwar Pujara as the Indian team's vice-captain for the upcoming first Test against Bangladesh on December 14.

On Sunday, December 11, the BCCI announced that regular skipper Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the first Test because of a finger injury. It also kept him out of the third ODI in Chattogram on December 10.

"India captain Rohit Sharma met with a specialist in Mumbai for his left thumb injury, which he sustained during the 2nd ODI against Bangladesh. He has been advised appropriate management for this injury and will not be available for the first Test against Bangladesh," the BCCI issued a statement.

"The BCCI Medical Team will take a call on his availability for the second and final Test at a later stage. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Abhimanyu Easwaran as his replacement for the first Test," the statement further read.

The Indian cricket board also mentioned that senior pace bowler Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were also ruled out of the Chattogram Test. They are yet to recover from their respective injuries.

Rohit's unavailability in the first Test has elevated his deputy KL Rahul to the captaincy role. Senior player Pujara has been named vice-captain for that game.

The right-handed batter is no stranger to the role as he previously served as Ajinkya Rahane's deputy in a couple of instances. He was the vice-captain in the Melbourne Test vs Australia in December 2020 and Kanpur Test vs New Zealand in November 2021.

However, Indian cricket fans found it strange that he was named vice-captain despite the presence of wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the squad.

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Appointment of Pujara as vice-captain creates conundrum over BCCI's leadership management

Earlier in February, Pujara and Rahane were dropped from India's Test squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah was named the deputy to Rohit Sharma during that point.

Pujara returned to the test team for the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Birmingham in July. It should be noted that Bumrah was named as the captain with Pant as his deputy. This was after Rohit tested positive for Covid-19 days before the series-decider game.

A few fans appreciated the move to name Pujara as Rahul's deputy for the first Test against Bangladesh. However, many were unhappy to see Pant being sidelined for the leadership role.

Bangladesh and India will play the first Test, starting on Wednesday, December 14, at the Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram. India lost the ODI series 1-2 after losing their first two games in Dhaka in close encounters.