India squad for SA: The BCCI on Wednesday announced a much-awaited squad for the 3-match Test series in South Africa starting December 26. The 18-man side led by Virat Kohli has seen under-fire seniors like Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Ishant Sharma retain their places. Follow India tour of South Africa live on InsideSport.IN.
India squad for SA: Lifeline for Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari returns
However, Rahane has lost his vice-captaincy to fellow Mumbaikar Rohit Sharma, who reurns to the red-ball format after being rested for the New Zealand series.
Further, opener Shubman Gill, who injured himself during the Mumbai Test against New Zealand has not been included. Another noticeable omission is Ravindra Jadeja, who suffered an injury to his right forearm during the first Test. Axar Patel, India’s highest wicket-taker in the recently concluded series has also failed to make the cut due to injury concerns.
KS Bharat, part of the New Zealand series has made way for Rishabh Pant. Also, pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami return for the big tour.
On the flip side, the likes of Shreyas Iyer – the debutant who scored a scintillating hundred on debut and Jayant Yadav have found their names in the squad for the all-important tour.
Hanuma Vihari Returns
The 28-year-old was axed from India’s home series against New Zealand but now it looks like all was part of a bigger plan. Three back-to-back fifties from the Hyderabad batsman against South Africa A for India A, and now his name in the list of senior India men’s Test team squad has definitely cleared a lot of air around him and his future in the great Indian batting line-up.
India’s squad for Tests against South Africa announced
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.
BCCI in its release said, “The following players were not available for selection due to injuries and are currently undergoing rehabilitation: Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Rahul Chahar.”
The All-India Senior Selection Committee also decided to name Rohit Sharma as the captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward.
| South Africa vs India, 2021/22 – Test series | |||
| S.No. | Date | Match | Venue |
| 1 | 26th – 30th December 2021 | 1st Test | SuperSport Park, Centurion |
| 2 | 3rd – 7th January 2022 | 2nd Test | Wanderers, Johannesburg |
| 3 | 11th – 15th January 2022 | 3rd Test | Newlands, Cape Town |
India squad for SA: Lifeline for Ajinkya Rahane and Ishant Sharma, Hanuma Vihari returns
