KL Rahul removed as vice-captain: What does a vice captain do in cricket?

While KL Rahul has so far been backed by the team management, his removal as vice-captain ostensibly makes it easier to drop him from the playing XI.

But why, though? What is the role of the vice-captain and why does cricket care so much about it?

A captain’s deputy

In cricket, the captain is a position unlike anything else in team sports. While fielding, the captain sets fields, decides who will bowl and from what end. The captain is the also ultimate authority when it comes to using the DRS. Furthermore, a captain has crucial inputs in terms of style of play, team selection and batting order.

The vice-captain is supposed to carry out the duties of a captain when they are off the field for any reason. Vice captains are also sounding boards for the captain, a senior member of the team who is consulted by the captain while making important decisions on the field. At least that is how the role is perceived to be.

Vice captains have had a long and interesting history in cricket and as cricket increasingly becomes more professional, their role is not just changing, some argue it is becoming increasingly redundant.

A coach, a selector and a manager

Compared to many other sports (especially ones from the US like baseball, American football and basketball), cricket has lagged in terms of professionalisation. While professionals were around in cricket since the 19th century, this did not translate to the growth of professional leagues till the IPL came and truly disrupted cricket. Till franchise T20 leagues took off, the organisation of cricket into national teams and domestic state/region/county teams followed the same formula as was seen for over a century.

This meant that cricket did not see the degree of specialised organisation like many other sports. For instance, most teams in Major League Baseball had at least two coaches by the 1920s. Coaches emerged in cricket as late as the 1980s with Australian Bob Simpson considered by many as the first “true coach” in the game. Simpson is credited with setting the blueprint for tactical and physical coaching in cricket for years to come.

But just because there was no specialised coach does not mean that there was no coaching at all. For instance, in the famous Bodyline series of 1932-33, we can see evidence of very clear tactical thinking that went into bowling fast and back of a length to stifle Don Bradman and his talented compatriots.

For the longest time, in cricket, the captain was the coach, the selector and the manager of the team. The vice-captain was thus an assistant coach, an assistant selector, and an assistant manager.

The vice-captain not only had a big say in selecting the team, he would also conduct net sessions, evaluate performances, and set up training drills. The vice-captain would also be crucial in ensuring discipline in the team, for instance ensuring that players got back from a night out on time and hopefully not too hungover the next morning.

The vice-captain was especially important during long tours where the facilities and infrastructure available to the touring team were even more limited.

The two kinds of vice-captains

Broadly speaking, the vice-captain role has been given to two kinds of cricketers over the years.

First has been the player who never had ambitions to become a full-time captain but still had the requisite authority and cricket smarts to support the captain and deputise when required. Typical of such a dynamic was the Australian pairing of Allan Border and Geoff Marsh – Marsh would be the forever vice-captain, authoritative but never ambitious enough to threaten Border’s position as leader.

The other kind, as often seen, is the player anointed to be the future captain. Think of Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan in England’s white-ball setup. Buttler was destined to be England’s next white ball captain. As Morgan’s younger deputy, he gained important experience before taking over when Morgan left. Steve Waugh-Ricky Ponting, Ricky Ponting-Michael Clarke and MS Dhoni-Virat Kohli are some other examples of such a dynamic.

Increasing specialisation and a decline in the importance of the vice-captain

But as cricket saw its commercial rise, with it come specialised coaches, analysts, selectors, and scouts, to name a few. In such a situation, the vice-captain’s role has steadily declined. No longer is there only one individual who has to take up the whole gamut of responsibilities once held by vice-captains.

Even on the field, often, teams have leadership groups who collectively make decisions or have specific roles. For instance, wicketkeepers often provide crucial input when it comes to taking reviews and setting fields. At the same time, a group of two or three players might be in charge of bowling changes. In practice, the most important role of vice-captains in today’s game is to be the official replacement of a captain in case of an injury.

But cricket has always been very attached to its traditions. As the removal of KL Rahul from vice-captaincy suggests, while the vice-captain’s role might be limited, it is still held as an important position in cricket.