NEWS
Follow UsAmidst all the confusion and chaos, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have confirmed that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have requested a break from the One-Day International (ODI)and T20 International (T20I) series against South Africa, but they will be back for the Test series, starting December 26.
“Mr Rohit Sharma and Mr Virat Kohli had requested the Board for a break from the white-ball leg of the tour. Mr Mohd. Shami is currently undergoing medical treatment and his availability is subject to fitness,” a release from the BCCI said
KL Rahul, who led the ODI side last time, will lead the squad in the 50-over format this time, too. Sanju Samson and Rajat Patidar have been named in the squad for the ODI format along with Rinku Singh, who made his T20I debut recently. Left-handed batter Sai Sudharsan gets his first-ever India call-up, with him featuring in the ODI side.
Suryakumar Yadav, who was part of the Indian setup at the ODI World Cup, has been dropped after an ordinary display in the longer white-ball format, where he averaged just 17.66. But he will continue to lead the side in T20Is, where all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returns as the vice-captain of the side.
On the Test scheme of things, veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been dropped. India had already moved on from Pujara in India’s Test series against West Indies earlier in the year, with Shubman Gill batting at No. 3. However, this time around, the Men in Blue have moved on from Rahane as well, who was the vice-captain of the Test side.
Shreyas Iyer, who spent much of the Test season earlier injured, makes a comeback for the three-match Test series against South Africa, along with Rahul. Jasprit Bumrah has been named the vice-captain of the Test side, with Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin all featuring in the 16-member squad.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Prasidh Krishna are the only two uncapped players to make the cut. Prasidh has presumably been included as a cover for Mohammed Shami, who is available subject to fitness.
The tour gets underway from December 10 with the first T20I in Durban before the action moves on to Gqeberha and finally to Johannesburg. Johannesburg will also host the first of the three ODIs on December 17, followed by Gqeberha before the white-ball leg of the tour comes to an end, with the third ODI in Paarl on December 21.
India and South Africa will then face off in two Tests, starting with the first one on December 26 in Centurion before concluding the tour with the second Test in Cape Town, starting January 3. Both the Tests will be part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
India’s squad for three T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vc), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.
India’s squad for three ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c & wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
India’s squad for two Tests: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Prasidh Krishna.
*Subject to fitness
