Batting mainstay Virat Kohli has rejoined the Indian red-ball squad in South Africa ahead of the Boxing Day Test at Centurion against the Proteas, according to an ANI report. Kohli had reportedly been away for the last three days for personal reasons and is said to be back in training, ahead of the first Test starting Tuesday, December 26, 2023. (Full Coverage | Cricket News)
Kohli was rested for the ODIs as well as T20Is against South Africa, before he joined the team on 15 December. The former India captain trained with the squad for three days before leaving, and reportedly returning on Saturday, December 23, 2023.
The Rohit Sharma-led India will take the field without the services of seamer Mohammed Shami, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and opener Ruturaj Gaikwad. Shami didn’t get the clearance from the BCCI medical team while Kishan requested for a break, and Gaikwad sustained a finger injury in the second ODI. As a result, KS Bharat and Abhimanyu Easwaran have been named as replacements in the squad.
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The two-match Test series will be a part of the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle. As of now, India are at the top of the WTC table, with a win and a draw, giving them a total of 66.67 points percentage.
India Test 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.
