'Simply because you don't need to...' - Ravi Shastri takes a dig as KL Rahul gets out from vice-captaincy

Senior Indian batter KL Rahul is enduring a poor run of form with the bat for a long time in international cricket. The Karnataka batter has also failed to live up to the expectations in the first two Tests of the ongoing four-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy against India. He has accumulated only 38 runs in three Test innings with a very miserable average of 12.66.

Amidst his tough time with the bat, the Indian team management has also removed KL Rahul from the position of vice-captain of Team India. Now, he will not be a deputy to Rohit Sharma in the upcoming two Tests of the four-match series in Indore and Ahmedabad respectively.

Subsequently, former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has also taken a dig at what management decided for KL Rahul. The 60-year-old also talked about the current mental state of KL Rahul amidst a horrific and tough time with the bat.

“The team management will decide (the vice-captain). They know his (Rahul's) form, they know his mental state. They know how they should be watching someone like Shubman Gill. I, for one, always had the belief (to) never appoint a vice-captain for India. I would rather go with my best XI, and if the captain has to leave the field, you'd zero in on a player that can take over at the time, simply because you don't need to create complications,” said Shastri in a podcast of a review show of cricket's governing body.

Here's what Ravi Shastri said further

“If the vice-captain doesn't perform, someone can take his place; at least the tag is not there. I'm being blunt and brutal; I never like vice-captain in home conditions. Overseas, it's different. Here, you want prime form, you want someone like Shubman Gill, who's red hot. He will challenge. He has to bang that door down and get into the side. Now, he's not the vice-captain, it has to be the team management's decision,” he added later.