Sourav Ganguly criticises Ajinkya Rahane appointment as Test vice-captain; suggested other players instead

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Sourav Ganguly was not too pleased with Ajinkya Rahane's appointment as vice-captain of the Indian Test team as the former India captain and BCCI president failed to understand the logic behind such a decision.

Rahane, 35, was out of favour for one-and-a-half years but was India's best batter in the World Test Championship final against Australia, with scores of 89 and 46 at the Oval, earlier this month. India eventually lost the final after a dramatic collapse while chasing on the final day.

The national selection committee headed by former India opener Shiv Sunder Das handed Rahane the role of Test vice-captain after the India middle-order batsman played just one Test match on his comeback to the Test fold. Rahane will be Rohit Sharma's deputy for the West Indies Test series.

So was it not ideal to groom someone like Shubman Gill for the role? "Yeah I think so," Ganguly said during an exclusive interaction from London. While he didn't term Rahane's ascendancy as a step backwards, the former India skipper didn't term it as a pragmatic decision.

"I won't say it's a step backward. You have been out for 18 months, then you play a Test and you become a vice-captain. I don't understand the thought process behind it. There is Ravindra Jadeja, who has been there for a long time and a certainty in Test matches, he is a candidate.

"But to just comeback and straightway become vice-captain after 18 months, I don't understand. My only thing is that the selection shouldn't be hot and cold. There has to be continuity and consistency in selection," Ganguly, one of India's finest Test captains, said.

The Indian selectors have hit the transition button by excluding a batter of Chetshwar Pujara's stature and Ganguly wants that communication channel should be clear with a player, who has featured in more than 100 Tests for India.

With inputs from PTI