Iyer recalled; Rahane out of Test squad

NEW DELHI: Rohit Sharma’s request to the BCCI for a break from white-ball cricket in South Africa despite being offered T20 captaincy has been accepted, while Jasprit Bumrah has been named his deputy for the two Tests starting December 26.

Virat Kohli’s request for a break from limited-overs games too has been accepted as Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul will lead the national team in T20Is and ODIs respectively.

However, it is understood that Hardik Pandya is no longer an automatic choice for T20 captaincy in the T20 World Cup next year if Rohit decides to play the shortest format.

“Rohit has been offered T20 captaincy but he is in UK on a holiday and wants an extended break after four months of gruelling season till end of the World Cup. But as captain, he has the highest respect of the dressing room and if he agrees to lead India in T20 World Cup, he will lead,” a BCCI source said.

After the T20 World Cup in 2022, Rohit had actually been reluctant to play the shortest format as he focused on 50-over cricket.

Only three players have been selected in all three squads -- Shreyas Iyer, Mukesh Kumar and Ruturaj Gaikwad.

Axar Patel has been dropped from the T20 squad and Ravindra Jadeja is the new T20 vice-captain for the series.

Rahul set to keep wickets

The national selection committee, on expected lines, has not included Kona Bharat in the Test squad as KL Rahul will now don the big gloves in the Test matches.

Rahul as keeper also opens two middle-order slots -- for Shreyas Iyer and reserve batter Gaikwad -- in the Test line-up.

It is understood that Mohammed Shami has a chance to get fit before the Test series starts late in December.

End of road for Rahane, Pujara and Umesh Yadav

Ajinkya Rahane, who scored 89 in the World Test Championship final, has probably played his last Test along with Cheteshwar Pujara.

“The two slots that Rahane and Pujara had now belong to Rahul and Iyer. Also, Gill will bat in the middle order and Yashashvi will get a long rope,” the source added.

Pacer Umesh Yadav has also played his last Test.

Squads: 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

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, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar

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