Rishabh Pant named India captain as KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav ruled out of IND vs SA 2022 T20I series

Swashbuckling wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant will be India's new captain after the BCCI revealed that skipper KL Rahul has been ruled out of the series due to a groin injury on Wednesday.

The 24-year-old was Rahul's deputy, but the injury to the opener meant that the young southpaw will now take over the reins.

The BCCI took to Twitter to announce that both Rahul, as well as left-arm wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav, will miss the entire T20I series. KL Rahul has now missed quite a few games for India and is yet to play for them this home season.

Kuldeep also had a golden opportunity to showcase his skills, but an injury to his hand during batting practice meant that the wrist-spinner will need to wait a bit longer for his chance.

Here's what the BCCI tweeted:

"NEWS - KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav ruled out of #INDvSA series owing to injury.The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series against South Africa @Paytm #INDvSA"

The BCCI also specified the reasons for Rahul and Kuldeep's injuries in their next tweet. It read:

"Team India Captain KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening."

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Golden opportunity for Rishabh Pant to showcase his leadership skills

Rishabh Pant has been the captain of the Delhi Capitals (DC) for the past two seasons. Although they haven't won the title, they finished top of the table after the league phase last season.

Pant did make some blunders that proved to be costly in big games. Giving Tom Curran a final over against the Chennai Super Kings instead of Kagiso Rabada in Qualifier 1 last year and not reviewing Tim David's caught behind in their last league game this season, which was a virtual knockout, are some of them.

However, he is expected to get better with time and prove that he has the ability to succeed Rohit Sharma as India's next captain with an impressive display against South Africa.

The Men in Blue will lock horns against the Proteas in a five-match T20I series, which starts on June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi.