Earlier, pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out for the Test series.
In a recent development coming in from the Indian camp in South Africa, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan has been released for the upcoming Test series against South Africa on grounds of personal reasons. The BCCI has named KS Bharat as his replacement. Bharat, who has featured in five Tests, will be one of the two wicketkeeping options in the squad alongside KL Rahul.
In a release, the BCCI said: “Mr Ishan Kishan has requested the BCCI to be released from the upcoming Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons. The wicket-keeper has subsequently been withdrawn from the Test squad.
Earlier, pacer Mohammed Shami was ruled out for the Test series in the Rainbow nation due to an ongoing injury. Skipper Rohit Sharma, who didn’t feature in the preceding T20I and ODI series will return to lead the Test squad against the Proteas. Batting great Virat Kohli too will be making a comeback in the longest format.
KL Rahul is expected to get the preference as the wicket-keeper for India in the Test series, as opposed to Bharat for the role. Rahul has demonstrated proficiency behind the stumps in both T20Is and ODIs. In Rishabh Pant’s absence, Rahul emerges as the most promising option across all formats.
However, the complexity of Test wicket-keeping raises questions about how the BCCI will manage Rahul’s workload should he assume the role in all three formats.
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India’s updated squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)
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