2nd Test: Kohli ruled out, Rahul leads as India bat vs SA in Johannesburg

In the absence of Virat Kohli, who has been ruled out with an upper back injury, stand-in skipper KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat in the second Test against South Africa at the Wanderers, Johannesburg on Monday. 

Speaking at the toss, Rahul confirmed Kohli was being looked after by the physios and that the team is hoping he can recover in time for the third Test in Cape Town. “Unfortunately Virat has had an upper back spasm, the physios are working on him and hopefully he’ll recover for the next Test.”

Also Read | Ahead of Johannesburg Test, Ashwin recalls ‘landmark’ moment of career

Hanuma Vihari has been brought in as Kohli’s replacement in the only to India‘s winning combination from the winnings side at Centurion. 

He also expressed delight at the opportunity to lead the side, saying it is an “honour”. “It is every Indian player’s dream to captain his country. Really honoured and looking forward to this challenge,” Rahul said. 

Also Read | India coach Rahul Dravid comments on Virat Kohli’s absence in press meets

The 29-year-old was also confident about the team’s prospects at their happy hunting ground Wanderers, saying “we have had a few good wins here and hopefully we’ll look to continue that”.

Meanwhile, South African skipper Dean Elgar confirmed two changes to the side, with Kyle Verryenne replacing recently-retired Quinton de Kock and Duanne Olivier coming in for Wiaan Mulder.

On Kohli’s absence from the match, Elgar said, “It doesn’t really bother me, we have got a Test match to play.”

Also Read | India penalised for slow-over rate in Test against South Africa

He also said losing a player like de Kock “is never ideal” and that “he has been a big player for us”. “Losing any big player is never ideal. But we need to move on. We have a lot of talent in our squad and we need to back them,” Elgar said. 

De Kock announced his retirement from Test cricket hours after India won the first Test at Centurion, stating he needs to spend more time with his growing family. De Kock and his wife are expecting their first-born child soon. 

Playing XIs:

South Africa: Dean Elgar (c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne (w), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi

India: KL Rahul (c), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (w), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj