India were handed a big blow ahead of the 2nd Test against South Africa in Johannesburg when captain Virat Kohli was ruled out of the contest. In his place, the tourists have elevated KL Rahul to the captaincy with the opener leading the red-ball squad for the first time in his career.
Rahul walked out for the toss and revealed that Kohli has complained of upper back spasm and the physios are working on it. However, it’s not a serious issue with the regular captain expected to resume duties for the third and final Test.
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“Unfortunately Virat has had an upper back spasm, the physios are working on him and hopefully he’ll recover for the next Test,” Rahul said at the toss after opting to bat first on Monday.
Rahul was also named captain of India’s ODI squad for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa in the absence of Rohit Sharma who hasn’t recovered from a hamstring injury he picked ahead of the tour.
“It is every Indian player’s dream to captain his country. Really honoured and looking forward to this challenge,” Rahul said.
Middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari has replaced Kohli in the India squad. Vihari, who averages 32.84, hasn’t played a Test in nearly a year with the Sydney contest against Australia in January 2021 being his last red-ball game for India.
“We have had a few good wins here and hopefully we’ll look to continue that. Hanuma Vihari comes in place of Virat. Just the one change. It was a good Test at Centurion overall. We really performed well as a team and are really excited about this match,” Rahul said.
India lead the three-match series 1-0 thanks to a historic win at Centurion’s SuperSport Park last week.
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