Due to injuries, Indian captain KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav were ruled out of the five-match T20 International series against South Africa on Wednesday. The team will be led by wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant.
KL Rahul has been ruled out of the series due to a right groin injury, while Kuldeep Yadav will miss the T20I series after being hit on the right hand while batting in the nets on Tuesday evening, according to the BCCI.
Rishabh Pant to captain Team India against South Africa
On the eve of the first T20I against South Africa, India was dealt two injury blows, with captain KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav both ruled out of the series. Rahul was set to make his T20I captaincy debut, but he will now return home and try to recover in time for England’s tour.
Rahul has a groin injury, while Kuldeep has been ruled out due to a hand injury, according to the BCCI. The left-arm spinner appeared to be a lock for a spot in the playing XI after his performance in the IPL 2022.
Rishabh Pant was named vice-captain for five T20Is by the BCCI, and he will make his captaincy debut in the first game on Thursday in Delhi (June 9). Because Rishabh will be the team’s captain, the BCCI has named a new vice-captain.
Rishabh will be assisted by Hardik Pandya, according to the board’s announcement. In the Indian Premier League 2022, the star all-rounder captained Gujarat Titans to victory. Pandya’s promotion to vice-captain suggests he could lead the national team in two T20Is against Ireland later this month. Rahul and Rishabh have decided not to go to Ireland.
Hardik Pandya is joining Team India’s leadership group for the first time. He had only captained a senior team once in his career prior to IPL 2022. In a practice match against a visiting Australian team in 2017, the all-rounder led India A.
India’s T20I squad:
Rishabh Pant (Captain)(wk), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.
