Rohit Sharma hamstrung for South Africa

Rohit Sharma. Pic/AFP

India's Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma was on Monday ruled out of the entire three-Test series against South Africa as his old left-hamstring injury resurfaced during the team's net session in Mumbai where he also took a hit on his hand.

India ‘A' captain Priyank Panchal will be Rohit's replacement opener in the Test series. The Board has not announced a stand-in vice-captain, but it is expected that KL Rahul is the front-runner for being Virat Kohli's deputy during the Tests.

Priyank Panchal

Other contenders could be Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin considering that Ajinkya Rahane has been removed from the role with his place in the XI not being assured. The Tests will wind up on January 15 followed by three ODIs, scheduled to begin on January 19 in Paarl.

Rohit, 34, also sustained a hit on his hands at the Mumbai nets while taking throwdowns from Raghavendra aka Raghu. "Yes, Rohit did suffer an injury on his hand, but even after that he had batted. So we can presume that hand injury isn't serious. But thereafter, it seemed the old hamstring problem resurfaced once again and it might take some time before he is fully fit and available.

"They are trying to sort it out. Hamstring injuries normally take four weeks which could effectively rule him out of Test series," a senior BCCI source said.

As of now, the extent of Rohit's injury is not very clear. It is not known whether it's a strain which is a less serious injury or a tear, which will have to be graded. "There are some issues, but the medical team is trying to sort it out," a source close to the cricketer said. The BCCI is yet to share the details of his scan report which will ascertain the degree of the injury.

123
No. of runs scored by Rohit Sharma in four Tests in SA

De Kock set to miss part of Test series

Johannesburg: South Africa's wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock is set to miss the third Test of the upcoming series against India due to the birth of his first child. An ESPNcricinfo report said that De Kock's wife Sasha is expected to give birth to a child in early January, and given the bio-bubble and other restrictions in place, he might miss the second game as well.

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