India tour of SA: Ahead of the all-important 3-match away Test series against South Africa, the likes of new Test team vice-captain Rohit Sharma, wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul and Ajinkya Rahane trained at Mumbai Cricket Association’s facility at BKC on Wednesday. Follow IND vs SA Live on InsideSport.IN.
India tour of SA: Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane train in Mumbai
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday also announced a 18-man squad for the South Africa series which starts with the first Test from December 26.
Under-fire Ajinkya Rahane, who is averaging below 20 in 2021, was given a lifeline alongside Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma. The series will also mark the return of Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami – who were rested for the home series against New Zealand.
According to a report in the TOI, Rahane also trained with the bunch. Notably, the right-hander could not feature in the second Test match against New Zealand in Mumbai due to a hamstring injury. Rahane’s place in the squad has been in question for long and the 33-year-old was sacked from the Test team’s vice-captaincy role on Wednesday.
“All of them trained hard at the nets from 2pm to 4.30pm. Since the main game was hosting a Vijay Hazare Trophy game between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh the players batted in the net facility,” a source told TOI.
Pacer Jasprit Bumrah also shared his training video on Instagram on Wednesday. In the video the pacer could be seen warming up before bowling full-throttle in indoor nets.
View this post on Instagram
India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj.
Standby Players: Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
India tour of SA: Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Ajinkya Rahane train in Mumbai