Andhra Pradesh

“It’s A Bit Shocking” – Mohammad Kaif On Cheteshwar Pujara’s Appointment As Vice-captain Over Rishabh Pant

December 14, 2022

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Former India National Cricket Team batter Mohammad Kaif has expressed his surprise over the appointment of Cheteshwar Pujara as India’s vice-captain ahead of Rishabh Pant for the two-match Test series against Bangladesh National Cricket Team.

The first Test match of the series will be played at Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium in Chattogram from December 14 to 18 and the second Test will be played from December 22 to 26 at Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur.

The 25-year-old wicketkeeper-batter Pant was named the vice-captain of the team in the rescheduled fifth Test against England in Birmingham in July. Notably, Jasprit Bumrah was leading India in that game after Rohit Sharma was ruled out after testing positive for Covid-19 and KL Rahul was out with an injury.

On December 11, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) confirmed that Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the first Test against Bangladesh due to a thumb injury and KL Rahul will be leading the side with Pujara serving as his deputy.

Meanwhile, Kaif has termed the appointment of Pujara as vice-captain “shocking”.

“It’s a bit shocking for me because the last time we played Rishabh Pant was the vice-captain,” Kaif said while replying to a Hindustan Times query in an interaction organised by Sony Sports Network.

Someone has made a mistake – Mohammad Kaif

The 42-year-old further highlighted that Pujara was a member of the India XI in the rescheduled Test against England and still he was not handed the leadership responsibility.

“Pujara was there in that team (in England) so either you have made a mistake here or back there in England. Someone has made a mistake. Why is there a rush? Why such a hurry to make Pant the captain? He’s a newcomer finding his feet at the international level. He has won some fantastic matches I understand but he is still young.

“You don’t make someone captain or vice-captain this early. Why this rush? I don’t understand. Why can’t someone just keep performing and keep winning matches? The priority should be to win matches for your team and not to be captain. We focus on players so much,” Kaif added.