"It is the right choice and the timing is perfect" - Saba Karim on KL Rahul's appointment as vice-captain for the SA Tests

Saba Karim has given the thumbs-up to the selectors' decision to appoint KL Rahul as Team India's vice-captain for the Test series against South Africa. He also believes the timing of the decision was spot-on.

The selectors had originally chosen Rohit Sharma as India's red-ball vice-captain for the Rainbow Nation tour. However, with Team India's limited-overs skipper getting ruled out of the Test series due to a hamstring injury, his opening partner was elevated to the role.

During a discussion on India News, Saba Karim was asked if the selectors could have announced KL Rahul's name the moment Rohit Sharma made himself unavailable and why so much suspense was created. He replied:

"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."

The former India selector believes Virat Kohli would also be happy with KL Rahul's appointment as his deputy. Karim said:

"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."

Saba Karim added that KL Rahul's captaincy experience in the IPL and him being an all-format player would have worked in his favor. He explained:

"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."

Apart from Rahul, the selectors might have considered the names of Ravichandran Ashwin and Jasprit Bumrah. While Ashwin has also captained the Punjab Kings in the past, Bumrah does not have any top-flight leadership experience.

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"KL Rahul is in line to become captain of Team India someday" - Reetinder Sodhi

KL Rahul is seen as a future captaincy prospect for Team India

Reetinder Singh Sodhi also occurred with Saba Karim's views on KL Rahul's appointment as vice-captain of India's Test side. He said:

"KL Rahul being made the vice-captain is a very good selection. He is an all-format player and in terrific form. He is captaincy material, he can captain for a long time. For now he is the vice-captain, so he is in line to become captain of Team India someday."

Rahul, along with the likes of Rishabh Pant and Shreyas Iyer, is seen as a future captaincy option for Team India. The 29-year-old is already Rohit Sharma's deputy in T20Is and is likely to be given the role in the 50-over format as well.