IND vs SA 1st Test: Team India’s maestro batter Virat Kohli has reportedly joined the Indian squad ahead of the upcoming India vs South Africa 1st test in Centurian. Kohli had left the squad midway due to a “family emergency” and flew to London, earlier this week.
The exact reasons why Virat Kohli had to leave the Indian team midway and fly to London is still known, however, it can be ascertained that he received the BCCI’s approval for the same.
Reportedly, Virat Kohli’s decision to fly to London was a planned one and all the members of the squad as well as the BCCI were well aware of it.
“Virat Kohli wasn’t going to play that game [intra-squad match]. The team management was aware of his plan and schedule, and it isn’t something which happened overnight or due to a family emergency. Look at the player in question, it’s Virat Kohli. He is very well planned regarding these things and his London trip was communicated and planned well in advance,” says a senior BCCI official.
The official further revealed that after Virat joined the Indian squad on December 15, he had a few very good net sessions with the boys. Now that he is back with the squad the batter is likely to undergo another few rounds of the net session before the 1st test on December 26.
“Kohli left India for South Africa on December 15. Had good 3-4 training sessions before he went to London on December 19. For the next few days, he was in London and has now linked up with the Test squad and will in all likelihood train in Centurion tomorrow,” adds the official.
The ongoing India tour of South Africa is at its climax with only a two-game test series remaining to be played. The tour comprised a three-game T20I series followed by as many games ODI series and a two-match test series.
IND vs SA Test Series Updates
The India-South Africa 1st test begins at the SuperSport Park in Centurian on boxing day and the second game of the series will begin on January 3 in the Newlands, Cape Town.
Notably, Team India had to undergo a couple of changes to the test squad ahead of the India vs South Africa test series. The team would miss the services of veteran pacer Mohammad Shami, who didn’t get the clearance from the BCCI’s medical outfit to feature in the test series due to some medical issues.
Opener Ruturaj Gaikwad and wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan are other players to miss the series, though they were initially named in the squad. While Gaikwad is ruled out after suffering a finger injury, Ishan Kishan has opted out of the test series due to “mental fatigue.”
Below is Team India’s squad for the South Africa test series:
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.
For more details head to ICC’s official website.