Virat made it clear, Rohit-Jadeja will not be available in the test series

For the tour of South Africa (India Tour of South Africa 2021-22), the Indian team will leave from Mumbai on Thursday. During a media interaction a day earlier, Test captain Virat Kohli made it clear that vice-captain Rohit Sharma and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja would not be available during the longest format of the game. Before the series against South Africa, Rohit has been made the vice-captain in the Test team. He suffered an injury during practice in Mumbai, after which Gujarat opener Priyank Panchal was included in the team in his place.

Sharma has scored 906 runs in 21 innings at an average of 47.68 and was the highest run-scorer for India in Test cricket in 2021. In the last Test against England in September, Sharma scored 127 runs in 256 balls, for which he was also awarded the ‘Player of the Match’ award.

Kohli said in the press conference, “Sharma’s absence will make the team miss him. He had proved himself by performing well in England. The team will really miss his experience.” At the same time, Kohli said, “I think this is a good opportunity for players like Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul. He can go ahead and give the team a good start.”

Jadeja was ruled out of the second Test against New Zealand in Mumbai due to injury and this was the reason why he was not even picked for the South Africa tour. Kohli believes that in the absence of an all-rounder, the team will not have to face much trouble in the series. Kohli said, “Jadeja is definitely a very important player for us. He contributes well in all three departments of the game, which is invaluable especially in overseas conditions.”