India vs South Africa: Virat Kohli out of Wanderers Test with back spasm, KL Rahul leads team
India has won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test in Johannesburg. KL Rahul is leading the side, with Virat Kohli having back spasms. Hanuma Vihari replaces the latter.
FollowFrom Monday, India and South Africa are locking horns in the second Test at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg. The visitors have won the toss and opted to bat. However, they are being led by KL Rahul, with regular skipper Virat Kohli missing out due to back spasms, as all-rounder Hanuma Vihari replaces him. With this, Rahul has become the first Indian skipper since Mohammad Azharuddin in 1990 to make his captaincy debut in Tests before the limited-overs.
After winning the toss, Rahul clarified Kohli was suffering from back spasms but assured that he would recover in time for the final Test in Cape Town from January 11. On the other hand, he was indeed honoured to lead the side in the longest format, terming it a dream come true, while he was looking ahead to the challenge. He affirmed that the side would do everything to continue its undefeated streak at the venue. Kohli happens to be the only change for the Indians, while he wants the boys to continue with the good run from Centurion.
Meanwhile, Protea skipper Dean Elgar stated, "It doesn't bother me [Kohli missing out]. We have got a Test match to play. Two changes: Kyle Verryenne comes in for QdK and Duanne Olivier for Mulder. Losing Quinny is never ideal. He has been a big player for us. Losing any big player is never perfect. But, we need to move on. We have a lot of talent in our squad, and we need to back them. There were a lot of good things you could speak about at Centurion. It would help if you were fair to the environment. There are many positives and good conversations to take out of that."
Playing XI
IND: KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj.
SA: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier and Lungi Ngidi.
