Does KL Rahul not have the leadership qualities to be a captain? Selectors' call in South Africa unimpressed Manoj Tiwary

Former India batter Manoj Tiwary questioned the selectors' decision to choose KL Rahul as stand-in skipper during the South Africa tour, questioning what they saw in him as "captaincy material," adding that grooming a player into a leadership role takes time.

During the ODI series against South Africa, which India lost 0-3 in, KL Rahul stepped in as captain in Rohit Sharma's absence. When Virat Kohli was forced to miss the second Test owing to a back spasm, he was named captain. South Africa levelled the series after India lost the Test, and the Proteas went on to win the series.

KL Rahul's leadership in the Test series has been questioned, with renowned batsman Sunil Gavaskar claiming that the Karnataka star appeared to be out of ideas when the South African batsmen were involved in big partnerships. India were favourites to win the series after becoming the first Asian nation to win a Test match at Centurion, but everything went wrong for the visitors after that.

In the ODI series, India was well outplayed in all three departments, and they returned home empty-handed from a tour that promised so much.

"Did you see Rahul as a captaincy candidate?" Suddenly, they're telling him that he'll be a future captain. Tiwary told Sportskeeda, "I don't understand how you can "groom" a captain."

"Either a person is born to lead or he isn't." Captaincy comes naturally to you; it's a quality you were born with. It is feasible to groom a captain, but it will take a long period. It will take a player 20 to 25 games to understand how to make good decisions, and even then, success is not guaranteed. Every international match, you see, is crucial for India," he added.

"I'm not blaming Rahul for his captaincy; instead of "grooming" a captain, selectors should look for leadership qualities in players. As a result, I'd like to inquire as to what the selectors saw in Rahul that led to his selection as India's captain."

In the limited-overs format, KL Rahul will continue to be India's vice-captain. The great batter has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the upcoming West Indies series in India. The BCCI named Rohit Sharma as captain and revealed the squads on Wednesday.