India vs Australia 2023

'Happy retirement' - KL Rahul gets removed as vice-captain of India following 2nd BGT Test

KL Rahul has been removed from the position of Indian vice-captain as his poor form continues in the BGT series.

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KL Rahul

KL Rahul (Image source: Twitter)

KL Rahul KL Rahul (Image source: Twitter)

India retained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy after a commendable win over Australia in the second Test at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi on Sunday, February 19. It was yet another three-day Test in the series as India once again dominated the visitors in both departments to secure a 6-wicket win. However, it has not been a great series for the India vice-captain, who has struggled to find form in the longest format and has been removed from his leadership position as a result.

According to a report by Indian Express, KL Rahul is no longer the vice-captain of the Indian Test team and captain Rohit Sharma will decide on the new vice-captain soon. Rahul was officially announced as the VC by the Indian Cricket Board when it announced the Test squad for the first two Tests of the BGT series last month. But given his poor form, the opening batter is understood to have been sacked from the role as the board did not name the Indian Test team's vice-captain in the squad for the last two Tests.

Rahul's poor form may pave the way for Gill or Ishan in the 3rd Test

Rahul scored just 198 runs in his last 12 innings and a total of 38 runs in three innings in the ongoing BGT series. In the Nagpur Test, the right-handed batter left the field for 20 runs in the first innings, while in the Delhi Test, his scores were 17 and 1 in the first and second innings. He will no longer be Rohit Sharma's deputy and may make way for Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan to open the innings in the ongoing series.

Meanwhile, India are just one win away from clinching the series and a spot in the World Test Championship final, with a thumping victory in the first two Tests against the Aussies. The hosts will head to Indore for the third Test on Wednesday, March 1, high on confidence, while Pat Cummins and Co will be keen to win the remaining two Tests and level the series.

Here is India's squad for the last two Tests against Australia:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, KS Bharat (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat.

Let's see how Twitter reacted to KL Rahul's removal as vice-captain:

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