Rohit Sharma REVEALS Real Reason Behind Removing KL Rahul As Vice Captain of Team India's Test Side

Prior to the third Test match against Australia, India's captain Rohit Sharma clarified that stripping KL Rahul of his vice-captaincy in the last two matches of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy doesn't hold significant meaning. The third Test is set to begin on March 1st in Indore. It's worth mentioning that despite the team's trust in Rahul, he has only scored 38 runs in three innings, making it difficult for him to continue getting chances, especially with someone like Shubman Gill waiting in the wings.

Rohit explained that all 17 players have an opportunity to make the playing 11 and Rahul was only appointed vice-captain due to the team lacking veteran players at the time.

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"As far as Gill and KL both are concerned, they train and practice [for long hours] before any game...As far as our 11 is concerned, we have not finalised on it. I would like to do it at the toss and I prefer to be announced at that point in time," Rohit Sharma further said.

"All 17 players in the team has a chance. The team will back those who are talented. Stripping vice-captaincy doesn't mean anything big. He was made the vice-captain because maybe there was not many experienced players at that time. It is not a big thing," Rohit said in a pre-match conference.

Although Shubman Gill has showcased impressive form recently in both red-ball and limited-overs cricket, selectors have opted for more experienced options at the top of India's batting order for the opening two Tests against Australia.

"When we talk about players going through a tough time, anyone with potential will be given enough time to prove themselves. And being vice-captain or not being vice-captain, doesn't actually tell you anything. At that point in time, when he was the vice-captain, he was probably the senior most. And his removal of vice-captaincy doesn't mean anything," he added.

"There is definitely a possibility of that. We've already spoken about it. We need to get the guys ready for it as well," Rohit said. "The important one is Shardul Thakur, because he comes into that plan for us. I don't know how ready he is, knowing that he just got married. We don't know how many overs he has bowled. But yeah, that thought process is definitely there. If we do what we do here and we get the result we want, we might think of doing something different in Ahmedabad for sure," he added.

India currently holds a 2-0 lead in the four-match Test series against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, and they require one more win to secure their place in the WTC final. Australia is the other favourite to play in the final. Rohit noted that selecting the team could be challenging since Shardul Thakur, India's preferred pace-bowling all-rounder in international conditions, isn't part of the team for this series and hasn't played competitive cricket in over a month.