KL Rahul’s last-minute injury means young wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant will captain India in the five-match T20I series against South Africa starting on Thursday (June 9) in New Delhi. Pant has been elevated to the captaincy position after KL Rahul and chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav were ruled out of the series due to back injuries.
Rishabh will overtake former skipper Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni when he takes over the captaincy on Thursday evening. The Delhi Capitals captain will become the second youngest Indian captain in T20Is.
At 23 years and 197 days, Suresh Raina holds the record for being India’s youngest T20I captain and will stand the record for now. Pant will start his captaincy career at the second position. He is 24 years old and was born in October 1997.
Raina and Pant will be followed by Dhoni, who was 26 when he led India in the 2007 T20 World Cup. Virender Sehwag, India’s first T20I captain, was 28 when the Men-in-Blues faced South Africa in 2006.
men in blue the proteas
Almost time for #RP17 to lead #TeamIndia on a very familiar ground #INDvSA pic.twitter.com/FqYDVjtqBh
— Delhi Capitals (@DelhiCapitals) June 9, 2022
Kohli was also 28 when he led India in T20Is for the first time. Interestingly, the former India captain led India in his first ODI in 2013 and in his first Test in 2014. But his first match as a T20I captain came against England in January 2017.
Ajinkya Rahane, who captained India on the Zimbabwe tour in 2015, was 28 then. At the age of 30, KL Rahul would have become India’s oldest T20I captain.
When Pant proceeded to address his first press conference at his home ground, the Arun Jaitley Stadium, on the eve of his India captaincy debut, the 24-year-old was delighted to be captain and accepted the ideal situation. The duties of leadership came to him.
“It’s a great feeling. It didn’t come in very good conditions. Also I feel happy. I want to thank BCCI for giving me the opportunity to lead the Indian team. I try to make the most of it. Will do,” Pant said on Wednesday.
“But first, thank you to all my well-wishers for supporting me through my thick and thin of my cricket career. But I want to make it as a foundation to improve and make my life better and better every day,” Pant said.
(with IANS inputs)