BCCI Shuts The Vice-Captaincy Door On Rishabh Pant's Face

Rishabh Pant has been primed to become the new vice-captain of the Indian team in the post-Rohit Sharma-Virat Kohli era. While Shubman Gill is more or less confirmed as the next India Test captain by the BCCI, there is still an open candidature for the role of his deputy.

The squad for the England tour will be announced on May 16 or 17, and the squad for India A will be announced early next week. The five-Test match series between India and England is scheduled to start from June 20.

Big captaincy vacuum in Team India

The need for a new captain and vice-captain has emerged after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, both senior pros, announced retirement from the format within one week of on other. Rohit Sharma announced first on May 7, after reportedly being told his place is not confirmed on the flight to the UK.

Virat Kohli reportedly wanted to captain India once more, as he wanted a new challenge to revitalize himself for the next phase of his career.

However, the BCCI told him that they would be appointing someone young as the new captain, and frustrated with the lack of freedom in the new Indian team setup, Kohli announced his retirement from Tests on May 12.

Rishabh Pant not likely to get Test vice-captaincy

Furthermore, multiple reports stated that Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant were prime candidates for becoming India's Test captain and vice-captain, respectively. Shubman Gill already captained India in T20Is and is the vice-captain in limited overs format.

Pant was vice-captain to KL Rahul on the tour of Bangladesh in 2022 before his car accident and was previously even primed for captaincy in the longest format of the game.

However, as per Vaibhav Bhola, editor of News 24, Rishabh Pant’s chances of becoming India's vice-captain are very difficult.

Rishabh Pant - Vice Captain ( Looks Difficult ) pic.twitter.com/V39aOaUhvS

— Vaibhav Bhola 🇮🇳 (@VibhuBhola) May 13, 2025

While it remains to be seen why Rishabh Pant has fallen down the rung for vice-captaincy, he has an impressive record in Test cricket.

Pant has had amazing numbers in Tests

Pant has a 42-plus average and hundreds in Australia, England, and South Africa, along with seven scores between 90 and 99, making Pant one of the best batters in the format.

Things will unfold gradually as BCCI has to announce the India A squad and India senior squad for the England tour in the coming days.

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