Virat Kohli will, however, reportedly play the two-Test series slated to begin on December 26. India's tour of South Africa will commence on December 10 and features three T20Is and as many ODIs
The whole of India despaired over the men's cricket team's defeat in the final of ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. But nobody would be more gutted than Virat Kohli, who unfurled a series of scintillating displays and emerged as the highest run-scorer in the tournament, only to end up on the losing side in the summit clash against Australia. (Cricket News)
After the gruelling campaign, Virat is taking some much-deserved rest, sitting out the ongoing T20I series against Australia. It appears that the rest period will be a slightly prolonged one for Virat, who will also sit out the T20Is and ODIs against South Africa slated in December, according to an Indian Express report.
Virat has informed the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that he will be taking a break during the two white-ball series, as per the report. India will be playing three T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches during the tour of South Africa.
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While the India batting mainstay will be unavailable for the limited-overs games, he will play the Test matches, the report adds. “He (Kohli) has informed the BCCI and selectors that he needs a break from white-ball cricket and he will get back to them about when he wants to play white ball cricket next," the report quoted a source as saying.
"At the moment he has informed the BCCI that he will be playing red-ball cricket, which means he is available for selection for the two Test matches in South Africa,” the source added.
The T20Is and ODIs will be played between December 10 and 21, before the attention shifts to Test cricket. The first Test will commence on 26 December in Centurion’s SuperSport Park, and the second five-day game will start on 3 January, in Cape Town’s Newlands Cricket Ground.
The national selection committee, led by former India all-rounder Ajit Agarkar, will select the Indian team for all three formats in the coming days.