IND vs SA 2022: Why are Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not playing the series?

For India's five-T20I home series against South Africa, which begins on Thursday at Delhi's Arjun Jaitley Stadium, regular skipper Rohit Sharma, ace batsman Virat Kohli, and fast-bowling leader Jaspirt Bumrah, among others, have been rested.

These all-rounders and other Test specialists will travel to England for the final match of a five-match series that was cut short due to the COVID-19 scare in August of last year.

In a T20 World Cup year, Rohit, Kohli, and Bumrah have shared an enormous workload recently and would benefit from such a refresher.

Surprisingly, in the first half of IPL 2022, all three senior players underperformed. While they had some strong second-half performances, they would have preferred a more consistent season.

This break should allow them to clear their brains and psychologically prepare for the longest format in difficult conditions.

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Shreyas Iyer, who were originally part of the T20I squad against the Proteas, will join the Test team soon after this series. Rahul, maybe another player who earned a rest, was named captain for the five-match T20I series against South Africa, but he has been ruled out due to a right groine injury.

In Pant's absence, Hardik Pandya, the team's most recent IPL champion, will take over as captain. This will be the young wicketkeeper's and batter's debut as India captain. Kuldeep Yadav, a wrist spinner, has also been ruled out after sustaining an injury to his right hand while batting in the nets in Delhi.