Rohit Sharma takes over from Virat Kohli as ODI captain, named as vice-captain in Tests

The BCCI have announced that Rohit Sharma will replace Virat Kohli as India’s full-time captain in ODI cricket while also taking over from Ajinkya Rahane as Kohli’s deputy in Test cricket. This decision was taken by the selection committee ahead of India’s tour of South Africa, with the press release stating that the selectors had ‘decided’ that Rohit should lead the team in both white-ball formats going forward.

Rohit had taken over as T20 captain following Virat Kohli’s decision to step down after the T20 World Cup in the UAE, leading India to a 3-0 victory over New Zealand in his first series in charge as the full-time skipper.

Kohli was appointed as India’s ODI captain in January 2017, winning 65 of his 95 ODI matches as skipper and leading the team to 15 wins in 19 bilateral ODI series. Although Virat was unable to guide the Men in Blue to an ICC trophy, India reached the finals of the 2017 Champions Trophy and the semi-finals of the 2019 World Cup under his stewardship.

Rohit has also taken over from Ajinkya Rahane as vice-captain in Test cricket for the upcoming tour to South Africa. Rohit returns to the 18-man squad for the 3-match series after being rested for the two Tests against New Zealand at home.

Rahane’s demotion in the team hierarchy comes as a result of his poor form in Test cricket in 2021, with the Mumbai batter averaging just 19.5 in 21 innings in this calendar year. Rahane managed only scores of 35 and 4 in the first Test against New Zealand in Kanpur, and his place in the side might be under threat from Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari. Vihari has three 50+ scores for India A in South Africa, while Iyer impressed on his Test debut against the Kiwis. 

Other notable names that return to the squad after being rested against New Zealand include KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Shardul Thakur.

Rahul replaces Shubman Gill in the squad – who has been ruled out due to injury – and the opener is likely to take Mayank Agarwal’s spot in the playing XI.

The Men in Blue are also light in the spin department after injuries to Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, with Jayant Yadav selected in the squad as the backup spinner after his promising performance in the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai.

India have named left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar and pacers Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Arzan Nagaswalla as standbys for the squad. All four are currently in South Africa with India A.

India Test Squad for South Africa: 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), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj