India tour of South Africa: Sharma, Kohli, Bumrah skip white-ball series; Iyer makes Test comeback

The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday announced the Indian men’s squad for the tour of South Africa. India will play three T20 Internationals, three One-Day Internationals and two Test matches during their tour which lasts from December 10, 2023 to January 7, 2024.

Senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are not included in India’s team for the two limited overs matches after the pair requested the BCCI for a break. Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah will also feature in the Test series although the BCCI has not stated a reason for Bumrah’s absence from the white-ball series.

In Sharma’s absence, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India during the T20I series with Ravindra Jadeja serving as his deputy. KL Rahul will lead India in the ODI series.

Sharma will lead the side for the Test series with Bumrah as vice-captain. Pacer Mohammed Shami has been named in the 16-member Test squad but is currently undergoing medical treatment and his availability is subject to fitness.

Veterans Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara find themselves out of the Test side while Shreyas Iyer has been included in the side. Iyer is also the only player to feature in all three squads

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna. 

India’s squad for T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

India’s squad for ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.