A family emergency has reportedly forced Indian cricket team star Virat Kohli to fly home, just days before the first Test match against South Africa gets underway. However, sources close to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have verified that the legendary batsman will return in time for the first Test against the Proteas in Centurion, which kicks off on December 26. Ishan Kishan, the wicketkeeper batsman, was earlier dropped by the BCCI from the Test series roster due to a personal issue. He was replaced for the two-match series by KS Bharat.
Additionally, it has been revealed that Ruturaj Gaikwad, India’s opening batsman, will miss the two-Test series due to a finger fracture. “Ruturaj Gaikwad has been ruled out of the two-Test series with ring finger fracture,” a source was quoted as saying by PTI.
It was during the second ODI against South Africa earlier this week that Gaikwad hurt his finger trying to grab a catch. The young batter’s replacement has not yet been announced by the BCCI.
Along with captain Rohit Sharma, pacer Jasprit Bumrah, and a few more players from India’s ODI World Cup squad, Kohli is expected to make his comeback during the Test series. Senior Indian players Rohit, Kohli, and others have not played cricket since their team’s devastating World Cup final loss to Australia.
Both the white-ball assignments against South Africa and the T20I series between India and that country had been skipped by Virat. But he was available for the Test series right from the beginning.
Indian squad: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)
