The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India’s sqauds for the three-format tour of South Africa on Thursday (November 30). While there were several talking points from the squad announcement, one among them was Yuzvendra Chahal’s inclusion in the ODI squad. Chahal was not part of the team that competed in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 nor was he included in the squad for the ongoing five-match T20I series against Australia. However, he did find a name in the ODI squad for the South Africa tour.
Soon after the India squad was announced, Chahal’s reaction on social media went viral. “Here we go AGAIN! 🇮🇳💙,” Chahal captioned the post along with a picture of himself in India Blues.
Check out Chahal’s post here:
Here we go AGAIN! 🇮🇳💙 pic.twitter.com/x4l3Yk91Ee
— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) November 30, 2023
No Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli In India’s White-Ball Squads
Meanwhile, both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have asked for a break from India’s white-ball series against the Proteas. While Suryakumar Yadav was named as the skipper of the T20I side with both Rohit as well as Hardik Pandya absent, KL Rahul was listed as the skipper of the ODI series. Suryakumar Yadav did not find a place for himself in the ODI scheme of things. Apart from Chahal, the 50-over squads also saw the inclusion of Sanju Samson and Rajat Patidar.
In addition, Shreyas Iyer returned to India’s red-ball setup ahead of the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane. Rohit and Virat both find their name in the two-match Test series with Rohit back at the helm of affairs for the traditional format of the game. Team India will play three T20Is on December 10, 12 and 14 against South Africa before three ODIs on December 17, 19 and 21. The first of the two Tests will be played from December 26 to December 30 before the final match of the tour in the New Year starting on January 03 to January 07, 2024.