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The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has named an 18-man squad for the upcoming three-match Test series in South Africa. Notably, Rohit Sharma returns to the team and as vice-captain, replacing Ajinkya Rajane in the role. Rahane, however, is still a part of the squad.
Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer have both been named in the squad as well as off-spinner Jayant Yadav. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Shubman Gill have all been ruled out of the series with injuries along with Rahul Chahar, the BCCI said in its statement.
India squad for South Africa Test series: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj
The BCCI also named four standby players in Navdeep Saini, Saurabh Kumar, Deepak Chahar and Arzan Nagwaswalla.
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul and Jasprit Bumrah return for India for South Africa tour
Rohit Sharma was rested for the home Tests against New Zealand but he has been brought back into the team and promoted to take over as Virat Kohli's deputy from Rahane.
KL Rahul has also been deemed fit for the series and is back in the team after missing out on the New Zealand Tests. He is likely to partner Rohit Sharma at the top of the order. However, Rahul will face competition from Karnataka teammate Mayank Agarwal, who scored a match-winning knock of150 runs against New Zealand in the series decider in Mumbai.
Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, who were rested for the series against the Kiwis, have also been brought back into the Indian team. Hanuma Vihari, who impressed for India A in the tour games in South Africa, has been included in the squad as well. The batter scored three half-centuries in the three matches against South Africa A.
The first Test will begin on December 26 at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. The second match will be played from January 3 at the Wanderers in Johannesburg and the final Test is set to begin on January 11 at Newlands in Cape Town.
