Mumbai: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli won’t feature in the ODI and T20 International series during Team India’s upcoming tour of South Africa.
Following the ODI World Cup, there was speculation over the two senior pros’ future in white-ball cricket, with reports suggesting that selectors would leave the decision on Rohit and Virat themselves.
Announcing the different squads, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said that Rohit and Kohli had requested the Board for a break from the white-ball leg of the tour.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has also opted out of the two short-format series, and has been included only in the Rohit-led Test squad.
The tour, from December 10 to January 7, 2024, will see India playing three T20Is, followed by three ODIs and two Test matches.
KL Rahul has been named the ODI captain, while Suryakumar Yadav – who is leading India in the ongoing home T20I series against Australia — will continue as captain in the shortest format as allrounder Hardik Pandya is yet to recover from an injury he sustained during the World Cup.
Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson, who was ignored for the World Cup, is back in the ODI squad along with Rajat Patidar who is available for selection after a long injury lay-off.
Tamil Nadu’s Sai Sudharsan earned a maiden senior India call-up for the ODI series. The 22-year-old left-handed batter caught the eye for Gujarat Titans in IPL.
Experienced leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who failed to make the World Cup cut, has been included in the ODI squad, but Shubman Gill and Surya are notable absentees. Gill is part of the T20I and Test squads, while Surya will fly back to India after leading in the T20Is.
Ajinkya Rahane, who played the World Test Championship final and was elevated to vice-captaincy in the Tests in the West Indies earlier this year, has been dumped for the longer-format games in South Africa. He has been replaced by Shreyas Iyer.
Rahul was listed as a wicketkeeper in the Test squad. It marks his return to the Test side after being dropped midway through the home Test series against Australia.
World Cup leading wicket-taker Mohammed Shami’s has been named in the Test squad, but his availability is subject to fitness. He is currently undergoing medical treatment.
T20I SQUAD: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav ©, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.
ODI SQUAD: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
TEST SQUAD: Rohit Sharma ©, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammad Shami*, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna.
India in South Africa: Full fixtures
- 1st T20I – Dec 10 in Durban (from 9.30 pm IST).
- 2nd T20I – Dec 12 in St George’s Park (9.30 pm)
- 3rd T20I – Dec 14 in Johannesburg (9.30 pm)
- 1st ODI – Dec 17 in Johannesburg (1.30 pm)
- 2nd ODI – Dec 19 in St George’s Park (4.30 pm)
- 3rd ODI – Dec 21 in Paarl (4.30 pm)
- 1st Test – Dec 26-30 in Centurion (1.30 pm)
- 2nd Test – Jan 3-7, 2024 in Cape Town (2 pm).
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