SA v IND: BCCI Announce 18-Man Squad For 3 Tests Against South Africa; Vihari Finally Gets His Due

BCCI on December 8 announced an 18-man squad for the upcoming 3 test match series against South Africa. Rohit Sharma, who was handed the T20I captaincy earlier, has been announced as the vice-captain of the test team. Virat Kohli will lead the side.

Impactful players - Shubman Gill, Ravindra Jadeja & Axar Patel have been dropped from the team owing to injury. These players have proved their importance in the recent test matches and only time would tell how much the team will miss them. 

Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane have been retained which would shock some fans but captain Kohli & coach Dravid had made it clear that they will back the players who have done well for the country in the past.

Rishabh Pant has made his return along with Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah & Shardul Thakur who were rested for the home series against New Zealand. Their return will strengthen the team further in South African conditions, where the Indians last played in 2018. 

• Virat Kohli (captain)
• Rohit Sharma (vice-captain)
• KL Rahul
• Mayank Agarwal
• Cheteshwar Pujara
• Ajinkya Rahane 
• Hanuma Vihari
• Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
• Wriddhiman Saha (wicketkeeper)
• Ravichandran Ashwin 
• Jayant Yadav
• Shreyas Iyer
• Mohammad Shami
• Umesh Yadav
• Jasprit Bumrah
• Shardul Thakur
• Mohammad Siraj
• Ishant Sharma 

Also Read: Ashes 2021-22 - England vs Australia Schedule and Squads

The first test between South Africa & India is scheduled to start from December 26. This match will be played at SuperSport Park, Centurion.