India vs South Africa: Rohit Sharma has said that KL Rahul will be keeping wickets and batting in the middle order during the Test series against South Africa.
India return to Test cricket with a two-match series against South Africa starting Tuesday and with that, a number of their star players will be playing their first international match since the disappointment of the 2023 World Cup final. Captain Rohit Sharma and head coach Rahul Dravid have stated that the team has put the disappointment of the final behind them as they look to record a first-ever Test series win for India in South Africa.
Rohit, Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah all return for the series, having missed the limited overs leg of the tour. Mohammed Shami was expected to do the same but he is yet to recover from an ankle injury. It is a big hole for India to fill and they have either Mukesh Kumar or Prasidh Krishna as their options. Mukesh did not have the greatest of time in the ODI and T20I legs of the tour and moreover, Prasidh’s style of bowling might just put the latter ahead in the pecking order. It means that Prasidh could earn his maiden Test cap in Centurion.
A new role for KL Rahul
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KL Rahul may have captained India in one of the three Tests they played on their last tour to South Africa and scored a century as well. But he is set to be shifted out of his regular opening slot in this series and will be donning the wicketkeeper’s gloves as well. Captain Rohit stated that he will be batting in the middle order, as he has done prolifically off late in ODI cricket.
India’s Predicted XI for the first Test vs South Africa
Openers: Rohit Sharma (C), Yashasvi Jaiswal,
Top and middle-order: Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer
Wicketkeeper: KL Rahul (WK)
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur
Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
