Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain surprises Saba Karim

Jasprit Bumrah. Pic/AFP

Former India wicketkeeper-batsman Syed Saba Karim is surprised with the BCCI's decision to make pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah the vice-captain of the team for the three-match ODI series against South Africa.

"I was extremely surprised; I was not expecting Bumrah to be made the vice-captain. I was hoping that Rishabh Pant had more chances to be made the vice-captain because he is also a multi-format player, he plays all three formats. Pant's performances as captain of the Delhi Capitals have been good. We are seeing how he reads the match, he has a lot of game awareness," former national selector Saba Karim said. The BCCI recently announced the India squad for the ODI series against the Proteas, naming KL Rahul as the skipper of the 18-member side, with newly-appointed skipper Rohit Sharma unavailable due to injury. Rahul, who is currently the vice-captain of the Test team in South Africa, will lead the ODI team in absence of Rohit, while Bumrah will be his deputy.

Before the announcement of the ODI team, there was speculation that if Rohit is ruled out, either wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant or Shreyas Iyer could get the vice-captain's job because of their IPL captaincy stints. But the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel chose Bumrah.

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