Rishabh Pant reacts to captaincy announcement
Giving his first press conference as India captain, the 24-year-old had a big smile on his face when he quipped, "I haven't been able to digest it yet. I got to know just an hour ago."
While the news of Rahul's injury is a cause of concern, Pant is grateful for the opportunity to lead the India side and hopes he can live up to the expectations.
"It is a very good feeling; it did not come under very good circumstances but at the same time I am feeling happy. I would like to thank the BCCI for giving me this opportunity to lead the Indian side," he said.
"I will try to make the most out of it. Thank you to all my well-wishers for supporting me in my journey through the thick and thin of my cricketing career. I will look to make it a base and keep improving and keep making my life better and better each and every day."
Pant is not a newbie when it comes to captaining. The left-hander has been leading the Delhi Capitals for the last two Indian Premier League (IPL) seasons and has also led Delhi in the Ranji Trophy. Pant believes the two experiences will help him a lot in this new challenge.
"I think as a captain, it will help me a lot (leading in the IPL) because when you are doing the same thing again and again, you improve. I am someone who keeps learning from his mistakes and I think it will help me in the coming days," Pant said.
Asked if the batting order will change in the absence of Rahul, Pant replied, "I think there would not be much change in the batting order as KL would have opened. We do not have many openers, we will discuss about it after sometime.
"I think as a team we have thought about certain goals we want to achieve as a team. At the end, we have the World Cup at the back of our head and we are preparing for that. In the coming days, you will see there will be changes and how we play cricket I guess."
The five-match T20I series against South Africa begins on Thursday, 9 June, with the first match in Delhi.