India is playing South Africa in the second Test of the Freedom Series in Johannesburg from Monday. Virat Kohli has missed out, while Hanumva Vihari has replaced him. But why not Shreyas Iyer?
From Monday, India is batting against South Africa in the second Test of the 2021-22 Freedom Series at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The Indians received a setback with skipper Virat Kohli being ruled out of the Test due to upper back spasms, while wicketkeeper-opener KL Rahul leads the side. As for Kohli's replacement, Hanuma Vihari came in.
As a result, fans were left baffled as to why Vihari got the nod ahead of Shreyas Iyer. Notably, Iyer, who made his debut in the home Test series last month against New Zealand and scored a century, has been in demand. However, on Monday, the All-India Senior Selection Committee stated in a release by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) that Iyer suffered fromCaptainach bug, leading to him missing out.
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Defining Kohli's issue, the release added, "Team India captain Mr Virat Kohli had a spasm on his upper back this morning. He won’t feature in the second Test against South Africa at The Wanderers. The BCCI medical team will be monitoring him during the course of this Test match."
Match summary
Winning the toss, Rahul opted to bat. However, India is off to a shaky start, losing three wickets at lunch. Rahul continues to back slowly and steadily, while Cheteshwar Pujara (3) and Ajinkya Rahane (0) were dismissed for cheap. Opener Mayank Agarwal (26) has been the highest scorer so far.
Brief scores: IND 60/3 (Mayank- 26; Olivier- 2/27) vs SA