India is done and dusted with the home New Zealand series, as it shifts focus to South Africa. Meanwhile, Virat Kohli's ODI captaincy might be discussed ahead of the team selection.
India has come up with a resounding performance against New Zealand. Playing at home, India beat NZ in Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is) 3-0 and the two-Test series 1-0. Now, it will be shifting its attention to South Africa, where it plays three Tests and three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), while the team selection meeting is scheduled to be held this week.
While India will be travelling with an entire squad, one of the agendas that will be up for discussion is the ODI captaincy. Although Virat Kohli is currently the captain of Tests and ODIs, he quit the T20I captaincy following India's poor campaign during the ICC T20 World Cup a couple of months back in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Rohit Sharma is currently handling the captaincy duties in the shortest format.
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ODI captaincy
In the meantime, it has been widely speculated that Kohli should step down from the leadership role in the white-ball format and focus on red-ball cricket, where he has been far more impressive. Speaking to PTI, an official from the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) stated that Kohli might soon be stepping down from the ODI captaincy. However, he added that the decision might be delayed since India plays only a handful of ODIs in the coming months.
Test vice-captain
Meanwhile, it is also being reported that Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara are likely to keep their place in the Test squad, despite the poor run of late. However, Rahane might lose out on it when it comes to vice-captaincy, while Rohit might be handed the duties. Also, the official reckoned that Rahane might not be the obvious choice in the starting XI.
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Number 3
As for the number three batting position, Pujara has held the position for quite some time now. Nevertheless, if he is to be dropped, Priyank Panchal or Abhimanyu Easwaran might be the ones to replace him, as the two are likely to be selected for the SA tour. However, Mayank can bat at number three if Rohit and KL Rahul decide to open.
Ishant Sharma
Also, pacer Ishant Sharma has had an enormous workload of late, and it is being speculated that he might be given some rest, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami are set to be back. In the meantime, Umesh Yadav is likely to replace Ishant, while the latter has also somewhat struggled. Among the potential net bowlers would be Prasidh Krishna and Avesh Khan.