Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as India’s T20I captain after the ICC T20 World Cup in the UAE and Oman, scheduled to be held from October 17 to November 14, has surprised many cricket fans. The move has also triggered speculation over who would take over from Kohli as India’s skipper in the shortest format of the game. While Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit Sharma, 34, is among the favourites for the job, there is also discussion over which players could be groomed to take over the mantle of captaincy in the long term. According to former India captain Sunil Gavaskar, KL Rahul is one player who can be given more responsibility in the national team in order to pave the way for him to take over the captaincy in future.
“If you are thinking of a new captain, I think KL Rahul can be looked at. His performance has been very good. Even now in England, his batting was very good. He has been performing well in IPL and 50-overs cricket as well on the international stage. I think he can be made the vice-captain,” Sunil Gavaskar told Sports Tak.
“He has shown very impressive leadership playing in the IPL. He hasn’t let the burden of captaincy affect his batting,” added Gavaskar.
Sunil Gavaskar’s potential future captain is 29-year-old Rahul, who made his international debut in the Boxing Day Test against Australia in 2014, has played 40 Tests, 38 ODIs and 48 T20Is for India. He also captains Punjab Kings in the IPL. He had represented Royal Challengers Bangalore and SunRisers Hyderabad in the tournament before moving to Punjab Kings in 2018.
