Danish Kaneria makes a huge statement on Rishabh Pant leading India in the fifth Test vs England

With Rohit Sharma having tested positive for Covid-19, his availability for the rescheduled fifth Test match is in doubt. The greatest issue is who would lead the Indian team if he is unavailable. A few options have emerged for this role, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant is one of them.

The series, which was middle in the middle of last year because of a COVID-19 outbreak in the visiting camp, is 2-1 in India's favour. The rescheduled match will take place at Birmingham's Edgbaston Stadium from July 1st to July 5th.

With Rohit's availability a concern, former Pakistani spinner Danish Kaneria recently talked about the options available to India to replace him in the crucial Test match. He was, however, strongly opposed to Rishabh Pant's appointment as captaincy replacement. "He is not even mature enough to be a captain. Because Rohit is doubtful for the Test match. Let's see," Kaneria said on his YouTube channel.

Furthermore, the 41-year-old stated that either Virat Kohli or Ravichandran Ashwin will be ideal candidates to lead India in the Test match. He felt that Pant or Jasprit Bumrah should not be named captains. According to him, Pant did a terrible job in the series against South Africa, while he believed Bumrah should focus on his bowling.

"Kohli is one of the best choices as captain if Rohit Sharma is not available. You also have Ashwin. Pant was given the captaincy in the South Africa series and he did a horrible job. His own batting collapses when he does captaincy. Rishabh Pant should not be the captain anymore. Ravichandran Ashwin can be a good choice. I think the load should not be on Bumrah. he should concentrate on his bowling. It is Test cricket. I would not keep Bumrah or Pant for captaincy," he said.

India's Test squad

Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna