Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt has named KL Rahul as India’s future captain in the longer format after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named him as the stand-in deputy for Virat Kohli for the upcoming three-match Test series in South Africa. Butt also explained why he felt that KL Rahul could be the “future leader” of India as well.
However, the BCCI has named Rahul as the vice-captain of the Tets series after Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the series with a hamstring injury recently. Notably, Rohit Sharma was earlier named as India’s new vice-captain for the Test series, before being appointed as the ODI captain of the team as well, replacing Kohli.
Speaking about the announcement on his YouTube channel, Salman Butt applauded that Rahul can be a decent captain as he did well while leading a weak team in Punjab Kings, which he captained in the Indian Premier League for two editions before opting to go for the mega auction for the next edition of the tournament as well.
“KL Rahul has captained Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. He is a very decent captain. He’s a good thinker of the game. He has not had a strong team but he has emerged as a lone fighter. He’s kept wickets and opened the innings, which shows he can handle responsibilities. You only make a player the vice-captain when you see him as a future leader,” Salman Butt said.
The absence of Rohit Sharma will be felt – Salman Butt
The former Pakistan opener also backed the team to script history in South Africa but warned them to be wary of the aggressive fast-bowling attack of the host. He also shared that the visitors will feel the absence of Rohit Sharma at the top order as he has been in good shape as well.
The BCCI named India A captain Priyank Panchal as Rohit’s replacement for the Test series as well.
“India can win in South Africa. But it won’t be easy. South Africa are aggressive and they have a good fast bowling attack. But India have the capabilities to seal the series. However, the absence of Rohit Sharma will be felt,” Salman Butt concluded.
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