Ishant Sharma likely to be dropped after India vs South Africa Test series, last chance for Rahane and Pujara: Reports

India's upcoming tour of South Africa is likely to be senior pacer Ishant Sharma's swansong in international cricket, The Indian Express reported on Saturday. With pressure from a bevy of emerging fast bowlers, the selectors have decided to look beyond the 33-year-old, who has been struggling to get wickets of late.

Apart from Ishant Sharma, senior batters Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara will also be in the crosshairs for similar reasons. Rahane was sacked from the vice-captaincy recently and is averaging below 20 this year. Pujara, too, hasn't had an impactful performance in a long time and has looked at sea in India's last few games.

Failure in South Africa could well bring the curtains down on the three esteemed careers. A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official confirmed the same in the report, saying:

“Rahane’s removal as vice-captain is a clear warning signal to him. As a senior member in the side, he needs to contribute more. Same is true for Pujara also. He too has been around for a long time and now the team expects him to play those crucial knocks in big games. In case they score and have a significant impact on the series, they might be able to extend their Test careers. But in the case of Ishant, this could be it."

Selectors are also clear that 40-50-run knocks won't save Pujara and Rahane and only "big runs" in the Rainbow Nation can help them continue. The official said:

“They have to score big runs (to avoid the axe), not 40s and 50s.”

Pujara and Rahane are under pressure from the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari. Iyer had a brilliant debut against New Zealand in Kanpur last month, scoring 105 and 65 in two innings. Vihari, meanwhile, was the top-scorer for India 'A' against South Africa 'A' on the unofficial Test tour, scoring 227 runs from five innings at 75.67.

Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma went wicketless in the first Test against the Kiwis before getting dropped due to an injury in the second match. The last couple of years have seen him lose his place as the leader of the bowling attack to Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, even as Umesh Yadav has continued to impress.

Sharma faces even more competition than Rahane and Pujara. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur have emerged as match-winners for Virat Kohli's side. Whereas Navdeep Saini, Prasidh Krishna, and Avesh Khan. Arzan Nagwaswalla and Deepak Chahar, among others, are also waiting in the wings.

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India's tour of South Africa full schedule

India vs South Africa 1st Test: December 26 to 30 – Centurion – 1:30 PM IST

2nd Test: January 3 to 7 – Johannesburg – 1:30 PM

3rd Test: January 11 to 15 – Cape Town – 2:00 PM

1st ODI: January 19, Wednesday – Paarl – 2:00 PM

2nd ODI: January 21, Friday – Paarl – 2:00 PM

3rd ODI: January 23, Sunday – Cape Town – 2:00 PM