The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has confirmed KL Rahul’s appointment as the vice-captain of the Indian cricket team for the upcoming Test series against South Africa. The Virat Kohli-led team is set to play three Test matches on the tour to South Africa which begins on December 26 in Centurion. 

Rahul replaces Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out of the series due to a hamstring injury that he reportedly sustained during a training session. Ajinkya Rahane was removed from the vice-captain post during the squad announcement for the series.

Rahul was previously named as the vice-captain of the ODI and T2OI team during the tour of Australia last year. Rohit was forced to miss the limited-overs leg of that series due to an injury that troubled him during Mumbai Indians’ (MI) title triumph in the 2020 Indian Premier League (IPL)

Rahul is also the favourite to be named as Rohit’s deputy in white-ball cricket following the MI skipper’s appointment as T20I and ODI captain of the Indian team. Infact, Rahul was named vice-captain during the home T20I series against New Zealand last month. 

India are scheduled to play three Test matches on the tour to South Africa. The first match will start at the SuperSport Park on Boxing day (December 26) and will be followed by games at Johannesburg and Cape Town on January 3 and January 11 respectively. 

Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, India will be aiming to win a Test series on South African soil for the first time in history. India’s best performance in a red-ball series in the rainbow nation was a drawn series in 2010/11. 

The Test series will be followed by a three-match ODI series which will be Rohit’s first assignment as full-time captain of the Indian team in the 50-over format. However, it remains to be seen if he recovers in time.