Mohammed Kaif has slammed the decision made by the BCCI and selectors to remove Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain of the Indian Test team ahead of the Afghanistan series. Pant was replaced as the vice-captain by KL Rahul and left out of the white-ball squad.
Pant has struggled while captaining Lucknow Super Giants this season, as the side was eliminated early from the tournament, winning four out of their 13 games. While chief selector Ajit Agarkar said that Pant’s position in the red-ball team is secureKaif was unhappy with the fact that the wicketkeeper’s form from the IPL was considered during his selection.
“Rishabh Pant has not done anything wrong. Red-ball and white-ball cricket are two very different formats. You are judging him based on the IPL, saying that he is not doing a good job as captain, that his team is losing, and that he is not scoring runs. But I believe there is no bigger match-winner for India in Tests, as a batter, than Rishabh Pant,” said Kaif to JioStar.
Pant has scored 289 runs from 13 matches this season in the IPL with an average of 28.6.
‘BE CONSISTENT’
Kaif was unhappy with the lack of consistency shown by the selectors when it came to picking and snubbing players from roles. He pointed out how Mohammed Shami was sidelined because of his agebut then Rahul was given vice-captaincy.
“KL Rahul is 34 years old. On one hand, you do not pick Mohammed Shami, saying that age is not on his side and that you are looking at younger players. So, I would want them to be consistent. Either go by form, regardless of age, and if you are scoring runs or taking wickets, you should get picked. Because I think Rishabh Pant deserved to continue as vice-captain,” said Kaif.
India will play Afghanistan in a one-off Test and three ODIs. The Test will be played from June 6-10 and the ODIs will be played on June 14, 17 and 20.
IPL 2026 | IPL Schedule | IPL Points Table | IPL Player Stats | Purple Cap | Orange Cap | IPL Videos | Cricket News | Live Score
– Ends
Source link
[ad_3]
