Why Rishabh Pant was removed from Test Vice-Captaincy: Rishabh Pant has been stripped of the Test team vice-captaincy. Chief selector Ajit Agarkar broke his silence on the reason behind this.

Why was Rishabh Pant removed from the vice-captaincy?

The Indian team will play a Test and three ODIs against Afghanistan next month. On Tuesday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Team India's squad for the Test and ODI series. The Test squad, in particular, saw a surprising change, as Rishabh Pant is no longer the vice-captain. KL Rahul has been appointed the new vice-captain.

Shubman Gill remains the Test team captain, but Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar issued a significant statement regarding the sudden removal of Rishabh Pant from the vice-captaincy. According to Agarkar, the selection committee wants Rishabh Pant to focus on his game without any pressure.

Why was the vice-captaincy taken away from Rishabh Pant?

In the press conference after the announcement of the Indian squad, Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar said, "Rishabh Pant is a great Test player in the Test format. He is not a part of the ODI squad right now. We want Rishabh to be the same great Test player that he has always been. I don't think there is any need to worry about his place in the Test team."

Rishabh Pant has not been included in Team India's ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan. Ajit Agarkar clarified that the ODI team is currently moving in a new direction, with two new wicketkeeper options. KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan have been selected as wicketkeepers for the ODI team.

India's ODI squad for the series against Afghanistan: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli , Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Prince Yadav, Gurnur Brar, Harsh Dubey