The biggest news from the squad announcement is that Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the Indian team in the T20I series in South Africa while KL Rahul will captain the ODI side.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Thursday announced two strong Indian squads for their upcoming tour of South Africa where they will play a series of 3 T20Is, 3 ODIs and 2 Tests from December 10 to January 7.
The selection committee meeting was held in the presence of head coach Rahul Dravid.
During the tour, India A will also play two four-day matches against South Africa A and one inter-squad three-day match.
Rohit & Kohli rested from white-ball series
The biggest news from the squad announcement is that Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested from both the white-ball series but will play the two Tests in the rainbow nation from December 26.
Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the Indian team in the T20I series in South Africa while KL Rahul will captain the ODI side.
Rohit had conveyed his reluctance to play T20 internationals to the BCCI and the board was unable to convince him to return to the format. Rohit will however, return to captain the Indian Test team from December 26.
Samson back in Indian squad
Meanwhile, Sanju Samson has been included as the wicketkeeper in the ODI squad and Ravindra Jadeja has been named the vice-captain for the T20I series. Jasprit Bumrah will be Rohit’s deputy in the Test series.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is the only player who has been included in all three squads while B Sai Sudharshan and Rinku Singh have received maiden call-ups in the Indian ODI squad.
The return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in Tests means there’s no place in the squad for red-ball veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, both of whom featured in India’s XI for the World Test Championship Final against Australia in June.
This will be the first assignment for head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff after getting their contracts extended.
The coaching staff’s first stint had come to an end after the ICC World Cup 2023 in which India finished as the runner’s-up behind Australia.
