KL Rahul to don vice-captain’s hat

KL Rahul en route his 129 during the second Test against England at Lord’s, London, earlier this year. Pic/Getty Images

Opener KL Rahul has been named as the Indian team's vice-captain for the upcoming three-Test series against South Africa, starting December 26, BCCI secretary Jay Shah said on Saturday.

Earlier, Rohit Sharma was made deputy to Virat Kohli for the series, but he was ruled out due to a recurring left-hamstring injury.

A long-term potential leader

Rahul, 29, has played 40 Tests so far and has scored 2,321 runs at an average of 35.16, with six centuries under his belt. Importantly, he is being looked at as a long-term potential leader.

Skipper Virat Kohli plays footvolley with teammates at Johannesburg

Rohit, who had replaced Ajinkya Rahane as the vice-captain for the Test series, suffered a left hamstring injury during the net session in Mumbai, which ruled him out for at least three to four weeks.

For the selectors, it was difficult to go back to Rahane who is no longer a certainty in the Test XI, and possibly, it is too early for Rishabh Pant to be elevated as vice-captain of the national team. Rahul, currently, is seen as one of the few all-format specialist batters.

Rahul has the right age and experience to be groomed for future when Kohli relinquishes Test leadership. He can take over the mantle for a longer duration.

It is also expected that Rahul will be the white-ball deputy to Rohit in the coming days. His name is also doing the rounds for captaining the new IPL Lucknow franchise.

Meanwhile, the Indian cricket team are gradually increasing its training intensity as it adapts to the higher altitude ahead of the first Test.

India arrived at Johannesburg via a chartered flight on Friday after three days of hard quarantine in Mumbai. The players had to isolate themselves for a day in a resort before they could have an outdoor session.

Players enjoy footvolley

In a video tweeted by BCCI on Saturday, the team members including head coach Rahul Dravid were seen enjoying a game of footvolley.

Talking about players' love for footvolley, India's strength and conditioning coach Soham Desai said, "We give them many other options, but they end up choosing footvolley.

"They love it and they have their own battles within the team for years now. It helps them focus on the game and stay in a happy place."

2,321
No. of runs scored by KL Rahul in 40 Tests @ 35.16

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