The All India Senior Selection Committee headed by Chetan Sharma has picked a star-studded 18-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa. The series will kick off in Centurion from December 26.
Ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the second Test against New Zealand, has failed to recover and will miss the series. If reports are to be believed true, he is likely to remain out of action until March 2022.
Underfire Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have retained their place in the squad. However, Rahane has lost the role of the Test vice-captain and the baton has been handed to Rohit Sharma, who has been appointed as India’s ODI captain.
The former vice-captain is also expected to face stiff competition for a place in the playing XI with the selectors also picking Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari. While Iyer has recently impressed on debut, Vihari has been amongst the runs for India A in South Africa.
Squad: Virat Kohli (Capt),Rohit Sharma(vc), 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. pic.twitter.com/6xSEwn9Rxb
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 8, 2021
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who were rested for the New Zealand series at home, return to the set-up again on expected lines.
The first Test will start at SuperSport Park in Centurion on December 26. The second Test will be played at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg from January 3-7 with the final Test scheduled for Newlands in Cape Town from January 11-15.
Squad: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma(vc), 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:Â Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Arzan Nagwaswalla.
more to follow…
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