India will go on their first overseas Test series under a new head coach Rahul Dravid, and now they have also named a new deputy of the Indian Captain, Virat Kohli. Kannur Lokesh Rahul will be India’s vice-captain for the three-match Test series against South Africa. Rahul will be replacing Rohit Sharma in the vice-captaincy role.
India’s Hit Man, Rohit Sharma, was announced as the vice-captain in the Test format and the captain for the ODIs and T20Is formats. But Rohit would be missing out on the three-match series of the longer format, and he is also doubtful about the three-match series of the fifty-overs format. Hitman sustained a hamstring injury while practicing in Bandra Kurla Complex- BKC. So he will miss the entire Test series, and the BCCI has not announced that Rohit will be available for the ODI series yet.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India – BCCI, will meet to select the ODI squad of the three-match series against South Africa on 26th December after the completion of the current Vijay Hazare Trophy, and maybe, they might announce the news of Rohit Sharma during that time. But as of now, Rohit’s injury is a serious one, so the management will need to look at that before announcing anything.
With Rohit Sharma’s injury, India will not have Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, and Axar Patel for the Test series against South Africa, which begins on the Boxing Day Test match at Centurion. Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul will be the opening batters for team India in that crucial Test series. Mayank was in good form in the last Test match at Mumbai, and KL has made a classic comeback on India’s Tour of England this year.
Rahul’s promotion as the vice-captain of the Indian Test Team has come because of his good performances in England. He scored 84 runs in the first Test match, and he also scored a century at Lords Cricket Ground. India was ahead in that series and looked to win their first series in England after 14 years. But the last Test match of the five-match series was postponed due to the Corona Virus threat.
KL Rahul was kept out of the Indian Test Team for two years because of Prithivi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, and Shubman Gill. Now things have changed for the Karanataka opener, and he needs to grab this opportunity with both hands. Despite missing the home Test series against the Kiwis, Indian Captain Virat Kohli has hinted that KL Rahul would open the innings in the Test series against South Africa.
South Africa and India will play the first Test match on Sunday, 26th December 2021. This Test match will be a Boxing Day test match at Super Sports Park in Centurion. Then the action of South Africa Vs India shifts to The Wanders Stadium in Johannesburg, and the Test series ends at Newlands in Cape Town on 15th January 2022. India will also play the three ODI matches in South Africa, and it will play them on the 19th, 21st, and 23rd of January 2021. The first two ODIs will be played at Paarl, and the last match of the fifty-over series will be played at Cape Town in Newlands Stadium.
India’s 18 member Test Squad for the three-match series against South Africa
KL Rahul – Vice Captain, Mayank Agarwal, Chesteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli – Captain, Ajinkya Rahane, Rishabh Pant – Wicketkeeper, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Jayant Yadav, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shreyas Iyer, Priyank Panchal, Hanuma Vihari and Wriddhiman Saha – Wicketkeeper.
