India vs Bangladesh: Mohammad Kaif 'Shocked' To See Cheteshwar Pujara's Name As Test Vice-Captain
Former India batter Mohammad Kaif has expressed astonishment seeing Cheteshwar Pujara being named the 'vice-captain' for the opening Test between India and Bangladesh.
The Indian cricket team is gearing up for a Test match assignment against Bangladesh, after losing the ODI series 1-2. A number of new faces have come into India's Test setup while some players' roles have been re-designated. Among one prominent change as far as the roles are concerned, is the fact that Cheteshwar Pujara has been named the vice-captain for the first Test. KL Rahul had to take up the captain's role as full-time skipper Rohit Sharma had to miss out on the Test series opener due to an injury.
Since spotting Pujara's name as 'vice-captain' for the opening Test, fans have been debating the decision since Rishabh Pant had taken up the role in a stand-in capacity earlier.
In a chat with NDTV's Rica Roy, Kaif admitted the decision to appoint Pujara as Rahul's deputy was 'shocking'. He even highlighted that Pant had scored a century the last time he was the team's vice-captain.
"Shocking that Pujara was made vice-captain. Pant scored a century in the last Test when he was the vice-captain," he said.
Kaif also took aim at the selectors for the decision. He said: "Selectors are not treating players in the right manner. Rishabh should not have been vice-captain then."
Among other topics, Kaif also urged the BCCI to put more focus on injury management as a lot of players have been missing out on important assignments due to injuries. Notably, Jasprit Bumrah had to miss both Asia Cup and T20 World Cup this year because of this reason.
On the topic of workload, Kaif said that while he understands the need for fast bowlers to take breaks, he isn't of the opinion that batters should be taking as many breaks as they are at present.
He cited the examples of Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Virender Sehwag, etc. while asserting that batters earlier barely took a break from the game.
India Cricket Team
Bangladesh Cricket Team
Cheteshwar Pujara