While there were reports doing the rounds that Rohit Sharma could well be back as the captain of India in the T20I series against South Africa, ultimately it was Suryakumar Yadav who was trusted with the responsibility with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announcing that both Rohit and Virat Kohli have asked for rest from the white-ball leg of the tour. This means that both Virat and Rohit have been away from more than a year and it remains to be seen wheher they would be back for the T20I series against Afghanistan in January. When BCCI Secretary Jay Shah was asked about clarity on the same, he failed to give clarity but instead kept the speculations alive on Rohit's potential return.
"What is the need to have clarity right now? It (T20 World Cup) is starting in June, we have the IPL before that and the series against Afghanistan," Shah told media on the sidelines of the WPL Auction on Saturday (December 9).
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Meanwhile, recent media reports have claimed that while Rohit is still very well in plans for the T20 World Cup, Kohli is not fitting in the side due to the availability of youngsters like Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill and Ruturaj Gaikwad who are all top-order batters. There is no clarity on precise clarity on Hardik Pandya's fitness either with the all-rounder working hard on his fitnessaand rehabilitation at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore.
As far as the South Africa series is concerned, the first of the thre-match T20I series will be played in Durban on Sunday (December 10).
India's White-Ball Squads For South Africa Series
India’s squad for 3 T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Jitesh Sharma (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.
India’s squad for 3 ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (captain) (wicketkeeper), Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.