KL Rahul named vice-captain for South Africa Tests

KL Rahul, who earlier this year made a comeback to the Test side and is expected to be named the permanent deputy to Rohit Sharma in white-ball cricket, has been appointed the vice-captain of the Test side in the three-match series against South Africa that will start on December 26. 

Earlier this month, the BCCI stripped Ajinkya Rahane of vice-captaincy and handed it over to Rohit, but the latter sustained an injury last week, ruling him out of the Test series versus the Proteas. With the management unwilling to go back to Rahane, Rahul has been named the vice-captain for the series, despite the 29-year-old having played just four Tests across the last two years.

"The All-India Senior selection committee has named KL Rahul as vice-captain for the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa. KL Rahul replaces Rohit Sharma as vice-captain, who was ruled out of the Test series owing to a hamstring injury," the BCCI confirmed in a release.

The appointment marks a fairytale year for Rahul, who after finding him out of the Test side two years ago, has now become a mainstay in the red-ball side. There were question marks about his red-ball prowess heading into the England Tests, but he smashed all doubts by proving to be one of the best batters in the series, scoring 315 runs at an average of 39.37.