Injured Jadeja, Axar rule out from SA tour; Rohit named ODI captain

Rohit Sharma has been named full-time ODI and T20I captain of India by the selection committee, the BCCI announced on Wednesday (December 8) when it unveiled the roster for the test series in South Africa. While Virat Kohli will continue to lead the test team, Rohit has also been named runner-up in the longest format.

Rohit recently led India in the T20I series against New Zealand at home immediately after the World Cup after Kohli decided to step down. However, Kohli had expressed his desire to lead the ODI team until the 2023 World Cup in India. He ended his tenure with 51 wins from 78 ODIs as full-time captain of India, an impressive feat that included appearances in the 2017 Champions Trophy final and the 2019 World Cup semi-finals, but an ICC title remained elusive.

Meanwhile, the attacked thug Ajinkya Rahane has managed to maintain his place on the test team. However, he is expected to face fierce competition for a spot in the team, with voters also choosing Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari. While Iyer recently impressed on his debut, Vihari has been among the runs for India A in South Africa.

However, India has been hampered in the spin division going into the series as its first two left arm spinners, Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, were sidelined due to injuries. Offspinner Jayant Yadav, who last played against New Zealand in Mumbai, was able to maintain his place as second spinner behind R Ashwin.

India Test squad for SA: 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, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed. Siraj.

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who were rested at home for the New Zealand series, are returning to the line-up as expected.

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India also has to do without Shubman Gill, who was not considered due to injury. Suryakumar Yadav, who was in the test squad for the last two missions without getting a game, has been sacked. KS Bharat, who replaced the injured Wriddhiman Saha against New Zealand, was also left out on the return of India's goalkeeper Rishabh Pant. KL Rahul, who was excluded from the New Zealand Tests, is back at Shardul Thakur's side.

In order to provide sufficient cover for the tempo attack, the selectors have also named three fast bowlers - Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Arzan Nagwaswalla - as substitutes. Left-spinner Saurabh Kumar is also getting a look-in as the fourth standby player due to the injuries of Jadeja and Axar. All four standby players are already in the India A squad in South Africa.

India's tour of South Africa was postponed for a week after both boards mutually agreed to start the series with the Boxing Day Test in Centurion. India will now open the tour at SuperSport Park on December 26th and play two more tests and three ODIs. The four-match T20I series has been scrapped with the announcement that it will be played at a later date.