Staying true to the chaotic theme of the last few weeks, Indian Cricket was rocked by another major announcement. With Test Vice-Captain Rohit Sharma missing out due to injury, KL Rahul has been appointed as Virat Kohli’s deputy for the tour of South Africa.

Rohit Sharma himself had been newly appointed as the Vice-Captain of the side when the squad for the tour was announced. Ajinkya Rahane, who also led the side in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur has been stripped off his leadership roles in the team.

Former cricketer and national selector Saba Karim has welcomed the decision. He is of the opinion that the timing is perfect and KL Rahul is of the right age to lead the future of Indian cricket. “According to me, it is the right choice and the timing is perfect. This is right because a lot of times, the selectors talk to the team management, what sort of feedback is coming from there, what is going on in their mind about who can prove to be a capable leader in the future, and then only the decision is taken,” said Saba Karim during an interaction with India News.

Although KL Rahul has been in an out of the Test team, he cemented a position for himself with strong showing in the recent Test series in England. Rahul accumulated significant runs and has also done well in the other formats for Team India. The 29-year-old is no stranger to leadership as he has been the captain of Punjab Kings for a few years now.

Saba Karim feels that Virat Kohli will also get behind the decision to promote KL Rahul as a leader of the team. “It is good that the selectors have taken their time and then made the announcement that KL Rahul will be the vice-captain in the upcoming series. I feel captain Virat Kohli would also believe that in Rohit Sharma’s absence.

“KL Rahul is a player who can captain in the future. He has done fantastic captaincy in the IPL for the Punjab Kings, his performances have been good and KL Rahul is currently a multi-format player,” Karim concluded.