India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to skip white-ball leg of tour; KL Rahul to lead in ODIs

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the white-ball fixtures in the upcoming tour of South Africa in addition to the ongoing T20I series against Australia, with Suryakumar Yadav set to continue as T20I captain.

The development was confirmed on Thursday following BCCI’s announcement of India’s squads for the upcoming tour, in which they face the Proteas in three T20Is, as many ODIs and two Tests.

The latest announcement puts a question mark over Rohit and Kohli’s future in white-ball cricket, with all-rounder Hardik Pandya appearing the likely candidate to take over leadership in both ODIs and T20Is going forward.

However, due to an ankle injury that Pandya suffered in a World Cup group stage match against Bangladesh, SKY is set to continue as skipper in the shortest format. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been named the vice-captain for the T20Is.

Wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul, meanwhile, will fill in as captain for the ODI leg of the tour, with the format taking a backseat after the conclusion of the World Cup. Rahul had also led India in the three ODI series that had taken place after the Test series in the 2021-2022 tour as well.

The decision to rest Rohit and Kohli from the ODIs and Tests will help keep them fresh for the crucial Test series, in which the Indians will be aiming to conquer the ‘Final Frontier’ — beating South Africa in an away Test series for the first time ever.

Read | Final frontier in SA and other challenges that lie ahead for coach Dravid

While Surya leads the side in T20Is, he will not be part of the ODIs for which wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson makes a return. Samson, who has been overlooked for the ongoing T20I series against Australia, had last played an ODI in the tour of West Indies.

Rajat Patidar, who has made quite the name for himself in the IPL, could also make his international debut in South Africa after getting included in the ODI squad.

No Rahane in Tests

The Test squad, additionally, does not feature senior batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. Pujara had been dropped right after the World Test Championship final with Rahane making the cut for the tour of West Indies.

The senior Mumbai batter, however, would register scores of 3 and 8 in the two Tests, making it difficult for the selectors to retain him especially with Iyer and Rahul returning to the Test fold following lengthy injury layoffs.

Additionally, pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been named Rohit’s deputy for the Test series. Bumrah, who recently made a comeback from a year-long injury layoff, had led India in the delayed fifth Test against Engladn in Birmingham last year. He had also captained the Men in Blue to a 2-0 series victory in Ireland in August.

The action begins with the first T20I at Durban’s Kingsmead on 10 December, with Gqeberha and Johannesburg hosting the second and third T20Is on 12 and 14 December respectively.

Johannesburg and Gqeberha then host the first and second ODIs on 17 and 19 December respectively with Paarl hosting the series finale on the 21st.

The Test series then commences with the Boxing Day fixture at Centurion’s SuperSport Park starting 26 December, followed by the New Year’s Test at Cape Town’s Newlands starting 3 January.

More to follow

India’s squads for the tour of South Africa:

India’s squad for 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.

India’s squad for 3 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 3 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.