Having held the position of interim captain in India’s last Test match, Rishabh Pant will now not be part of the leadership group for the upcoming one-off Test against Afghanistan.
Earlier this week, the BCCI announced the 15-man India squad to host Afghanistan in a lone Test. The IND vs AFG Test match will be played in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, from June 6.
The one-off Test will be followed by a three-match ODI series.
From the Test squad, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have been rested, while Axar Patel and Akash Deep didn’t find a place in the squad, and they have been replaced with Rajasthan’s left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder Manav Suthar and Punjab seamer Gurnoor Brar. And Harsh Dubey, a left-arm spinner from Vidarbha, has also received a Test squad call-up.
A major talking point in chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s press conference for the Test and ODI squad announcement was the demotion of Rishabh Pant.
Pant has been sacked as the vice-captain of the Test team, with KL Rahul now getting this honor, and the left-handed wicket-keeper has also been dropped from the ODI squad, as Ishan Kishan, in the form of his life, storms back into the ODI setup.
Pant was India’s vice-captain on India’s Test tour of England in 2025, where he injured his foot. He returned during last November’s home Test series against South Africa, which India lost 2-0, and led the side in the second Test when Shubman Gill was unavailable due to an injury.
However, now the selectors have opted to remove him from the vice-captain position.
Why Is Rishabh Pant Sacked As India’s Test Vice-Captain
Agarkar explained that this decision has been made to relieve Pant from the vice-captaincy pressure, allowing him to focus only on his batting. The chief selector assured that Pant’s place in the Test side is not under any threat of uncertainty.
“We want him to become the best Test player that he has always been. I don’t think there is any concern with his spot in the Test team. I think he is one of our main batters in that line-up. (He) had a really good tour of England till he got injured,” Agarkar said.
“So, I am sure he would like a few more runs. But he has always been very good in Test cricket. At this point, yes, we have gone with two different (wicket-keeper) options in one-day cricket. But Test cricket, he remains one of our main players.”
Agarkar lavished praise on Rahul, who is an integral part of the Test team as an opener and the ODI team as a middle-order keeper-batsman.
“That’s the best option we think at this point that we have as far as vice-captain with experience. We saw during the South African series as well when Shubman got injured. And KL provides us with the necessary experience that you need in case the situation arises. Plus, he has obviously had a really good tour of England and against the West Indies,” the BCCI chief selector asserted.
Rahul has captained India in three Tests, 15 ODIs, and one T20I with impressive results.
Meanwhile, the ODI team has familiar names in Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Hardik Pandya, but Bumrah and Jadeja are rested. Shreyas Iyer is the vice-captain of the ODI unit.
Prince Yadav, Gurnoor Brar, and Harsh Dubey have been included in the ODI squad.
India Test squad vs Afghanistan:
Shubman Gill (C), Devdutt Padikkal, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul (vc), Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey, Dhruv Jurel (wk)
India ODI squad vs Afghanistan:
Shubman Gill (C), Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Virat Kohli, Ishan Kishan (wk), Rohit Sharma, Prasidh Krishna, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Gurnoor Brar, Harsh Dubey
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