India name squad for tour to South Africa, with some surprises

Rohit Sharma returns to the India Test squad for the upcoming tour to South Africa and has been named as the vice-captain.

The All-India selection committee also confirmed that Rohit has been appointed as the full-time ODI skipper.

Kohli at the helm

Virat Kohli will captain India for the three Tests against the Proteas, starting with the Boxing Day Test at SuperSport Park.

KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, all of whom sat out the home series against New Zealand, return to the squad.

Another player earning a recall is Hanuma Vihari who has impressed on the India A tour of South Africa passing fifty three times in four innings.

The squad also featured a return for Shardul Thakur, in a pace-heavy squad. However, all of Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, and Rahul Chahar were not considered for selection due to various injuries.

Jayant Yadav impressed in the Mumbai Test against New Zealand, his first Test outing since 2017, meaning he has been retained in the side and will join R Ashwin in the spin department. 

The Test series will form a part of the new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship and India cannot, therefore, afford to take the trip to South Africa lightly.

India last visited South Africa for a Test series in the 2017/18 season when they were narrowly bested by the home side.

The tour was thrown into doubt by the emergence of a new strain of COVID-19 but India have affirmed their commitment to travel. 

India squad for tour to South Africa

Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, 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, Mohammed Siraj.

Standby Players: Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Arzan Nagwaswalla.