The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced Team India’s squad for the Test and ODI series against the West Indies. Regular captain Rohit Sharma will lead the team in both formats. Indian veteran batter Ajinkya Rahane was named as the vice-captain for the Test squad and that decision has made some former cricketers to think about because Rahane came into the team after being out for 15 months.

Rahane was the top performer with the bat in the WTC final against Australia. If Rahane can make a comeback, the doors are not closed for senior players like Cheteshwar Pujara. There is nothing wrong in having Rahane as the vice-captain, but a missed opportunity to groom a young player. At least, tell a young player that we are looking at you as a future captain. So, he starts to think as a future leader, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar said.

Gavaskar picked not one but three players who can replace Rohit in the future. One is the opening batter across all formats Shubman Gill and the other is a fine all-rounder because Axar comes in leaps and bounds, he just gets better every match. Giving him the responsibility as vice-captain will make them think. So, these are the two candidates in my view.

If there are others, somebody like Ishan Kishan, once he cements his place in the team. He can come in the reckoning as well, the legendary batter added. India’s Test line-up also marks the return of pacer Navdeep Saini and maiden call-ups for Yashasvi Jaiswal, Mukesh Kumar, and Ruturaj Gaikwad.