With the T20Is and ODIs done, it’s time for the Indian team to shift its focus to the Test format with the big series against South Africa set to begin in a little more than 24 hours from now.
The Men in Blue, led by Suryakumar Yadav, managed to hold the Aiden Markram-led Proteas to a 1-1 draw in the T20I leg of the tour. India pulled off a dominant 106-run victory to level the series in Johannesburg after a five-wicket defeat in Gqeberha, with the tour opener in Durban getting rained off.
It was a similar story in the ODI leg of the tour, where the Indian team led this time by KL Rahul won in Jo’burg and lost in Gqeberha, before winning the series decider in Paarl.
With the white-ball fixtures done and dusted, it’s time for the Indian team to shift its focus to the big task at hand — beating South Africa in a Test series in South Africa for the first time ever, which many in the cricketing fraternity describe as the ‘Final Frontier’ for Indian cricket.
It is time for the Test series and Captain Rohit Sharma is READY! 💪🏾🙌🏽#TeamIndia | @ImRo45 | #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/EYwvGjuKGw
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 24, 2023
The upcoming Test series with witness the return of several seniors with skipper Rohit Sharma, batting star Virat Kohli and pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah, who has been named vice-captain for the series, returning to action for the first time since the World Cup final.
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Pacer Mohammed Siraj will also be making a comeback after the six-wicket defeat against Australia on 19 November, and will be expected to share the brand new Kookaburra with Bumrah at the start of the innings.
As for the spin department, off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin joins the squad which also has left-arm finger spinner Ravindra Jadeja — who had featured in the T20I series earlier in the tour. Head coach Rahul Dravid, however, had on Sunday hinted at the team playing just one frontline spinner, meaning it either of the two veterans will be picked.
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Dravid also added that KL Rahul will be keeping the wickets in the Tests, especially after Ishan Kishan’s withdrawal from the Test series to take a ‘mental health’ break.
Ahead of the opening Test at Centurion’s SuperSport Park, we take a look at what India’s playing XI could be:
India likely XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravindra Jadeja/Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Siraj.
India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk), Abhimanyu Easwaran.
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