look news india
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced its squad for the 5-match T20 series against England starting from January 22. Suryakumar Yadav has been made the captain for this series, while Akshar Patel has been given the responsibility of vice-captain. Mohammed Shami has returned to the team after 14 months, adding a new dimension of experience to the squad.
Axar Patel’s appointment as vice-captain has added a new chapter in terms of vice-captaincy in the Indian team, especially when the team has an experienced player like Hardik Pandya, who was the vice-captain of the team in the T20 World Cup. This indicates that the BCCI is looking at Axar Patel as the future captain, although Axar will turn 31 on the 20th of this month.
There is no regular vice-captain of the Indian team in T20 cricket. No player was officially made the vice-captain on the South Africa tour, whereas on the Sri Lanka tour, Shubman Gill took over this role. Gill also led the team on the Zimbabwe tour, but he is not part of the T20 squad due to the upcoming ODI series against England and the Champions Trophy.
Akshar Patel has been rewarded for his consistently good performance. His role was important in the T20 World Cup, where he played an important inning of 47 runs in 31 balls in the final.
However, Hardik Pandya’s sudden exit from the leadership role has been shocking for some people. Pandya was expected to be given the captaincy of the team after the retirement of Rohit Sharma, but BCCI surprised everyone by appointing Suryakumar Yadav as the captain.