The BCCI announced on Thursday (November 30) that KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav will captain India’s limited-overs squads in South Africa. The board has confirmed that veterans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma had asked to be removed from the white-ball portion of the tour, which is why they were left off of the ODI and T20I squads.
For the three-match ODI series, the selectors have made multiple changes to the squad and rested players like Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and Suryakumar Yadav. Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Sai Sudharshan, Rinku Singh, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have all been included. While Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami rested, bowlers Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Deepak Chahar were included.
The Test team includes all three of the top pacers, with Rahul and Ishan serving as the team’s designated wicketkeepers. However, KS Bharat has been selected to lead the India A squad and will be accompanying the group on their tour of South Africa. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara were excluded from the Test squad by the selectors, as Shreyas Iyer has returned to full fitness and Ruturaj Gaikwad continues to hold a spot. The board additionally verified that Shami is receiving medical attention, and his suitability for the tests will depend on that.
Ravindra Jadeja returns to the T20I setup and is named vice-captain of the team. Gill, who was given a break from the current series against Australia, has been added, and Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, and Deepak Chahar also make an appearance.
The tour kicks off on December 10 with the T20I series before the teams face off in three ODIs. India will then face the hosts in a Boxing Day Test match, starting on December 26 before concluding the tour with the second and final Test, beginning on January 3.
