Rishabh Pant will serve as India’s vice-captain during the T20I series against West Indies.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named Rishabh Pant as vice-captain of India’s T20I team for the forthcoming three-match series against the West Indies, which begins on February 16. In the absence of KL Rahul, the wicketkeeper-batter will fill in as Rohit Sharma’s deputy in the T20I series.

KL Rahul will miss the T20i series owing to a hamstring injury sustained during the ODI series. Rahul did not play in the last ODI of the series, which India won to clinch a 3-0 whitewash.

Rishabh Pant has been identified as one of the team’s potential leaders. While the Delhi wicketkeeper has not been a member of the leadership group thus far, his appointment to vice-captaincy indicates that the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel is considering him for a future captaincy position.

While Rohit leads India in the limited-overs format, it remains to be seen who the selectors would support for the Test leadership. While KL Rahul led India in the second Test in Virat Kohli’s absence, the BCCI has yet to select a Test captain since Kohli stepped down following India’s 1-2 setback in the series in South Africa in January.

Rishabh Pant has shown his captaincy by guiding the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 season. Pant was retained by the Delhi Capitals, who formed their line-up around the aggressive wicketkeeper in the blockbuster auction.

Meanwhile, India will be without off-spinner Washington Sundar for the T20I series due to a hamstring issue suffered during the ODI series against the West Indies. In the T20I squad, Kuldeep Yadav has been picked as his replacement.

From February 16 to 20, India will face the West Indies in three Twenty20 matches at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.