The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced Rohit Sharma as Team India‘s captain in ODIs and T20Is as well as the vice captain in Tests. The cricket board also announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa. 

The BCCI top brass has been mulling a change in captaincy in the white ball formats with the team’s disappointing showing in recent ICC tournaments. Virat Kohli had earlier announced his decision to step down as T20I skipper before the recently-concluded World Cup. Rohit was named as his replacement for the T20I series against New Zealand at home. 

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee also decided to name Mr Rohit Sharma as the Captain of the ODI & T20I teams going forward,” BCCI tweeted. 

Ajinkya Rahane‘s poor run of form in the longest format has ended up costing his role as Kohli’s deputy. Rahane has been included in the squad for the three-match series against the Proteas.

Rohit’s commanding performances in recent Tests against England, both at home and away, reinforced his standing as a Test batter. 

Meanwhile, middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari has been included in the squad for the tour of South Africa. Ravindra Jadeja, Shubman Gill and Axar Patel have been ruled out of the Test series due to injuries. 

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KL Rahul, who missed the home series against New Zealand with injury, is back for the South Africa Tests along with Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.  

Jayant Yadav has retained his place along with Ravichandran Ashwin, with Wriddhiman Saha selected as the backup keeper. 

Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(wk), Wriddhiman Saha(wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj.