As India gear up to face Zimbabwe in a three-match ODI series in August before the Asia Cup 2022, former India cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has come out to say the decision to make KL Rahul captain for the series was not required.

While regular captain Rohit Sharma has been rested along with other senior players like Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul has been appointed as the leader of Team India in the upcoming ODI series. Shikhar Dhawan, who was appointed captain of the Indian team in the ODI series in the recently concluded tour of West Indies, has been named as the vice-captain.

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KL Rahul has recently made a comeback after injuries and COVID-19 restricted him from playing for the large part of 2022. The decision to make the 30-year-old captain was met with stark criticism from several experts and Chopra is one of them.

The former India opener thinks that Shikhar Dhawan should have been appointed as the captain of the Indian team against Zimbabwe, as India has many captains and the change after the West Indies series was not needed.

“If it was in my hands, I would’ve avoided this. KL Rahul hadn’t been a part of this team, he was in the Asia Cup squad. There have already been eight, nine captains in the side,” he said on his YouTube channel. 

Chopra pointed out that Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have all been tested as captains and Suryakumar Yadav can become a captain soon. He also said that regular captain Rohit Sharma and former skipper Virat Kohli are also part of the Indian team, along with Shreyas Iyer, who has led a side in the IPL.

“Rishabh Pant is captain, Hardik Pandya is captain, and I don’t think Suryakumar Yadav is too far from captaincy either. 

“Rohit and Virat are already there. Shreyas Iyer has also captained (in the IPL), and Jasprit Bumrah has also been a skipper. I don’t think this was needed,” he quipped. 

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According to the commentator, the change in captaincy once again will hit Shikhar Dhawan’s morale, who was the captain of the Indian team earlier in August against the West Indies.

KL Rahul was considered to be appointed as the vice-captain of Rohit Sharma when Virat Kohli stepped down as the captain.

India will play the first ODI match against Zimbabwe on August 18 in Harare, the country’s capital.