India captain Rohit Sharma will be leading India for the first time in a Test match in South Africa, while this is the second Test tour of South Africa as head coach for Rahul Dravid.
On the previous tour, which Rohit Sharma missed due to injury, in 2021/22, India took a 1-0 lead before losing the next two Tests and squandered the opportunity for a historic maiden Test series win in South Africa. Virat Kohli stepped down as the Test skipper after that tour.
A few big changes have happened in India’s squad since the 2021/22 South Africa tour. Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara have been dropped while Rishabh Pant and Mohammed Shami will miss this series due to injury.
With South Africa, too, dealing with the unavailability of the injured Anrich Nortje and form issues with some of their batters, the Proteas are once again ripe for the taking for India. The two-Test series starts on Boxing Day, December 26, in Centurion.
Would Rohit Sharma become the first India captain to win a Test series in South Africa?
Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid have a few selection dilemmas to ponder upon ahead of the first Test vs South Africa:
Shardul Thakur vs R Ashwin; one or two spinners
This has been a debate that India have had to encounter everytime they are in England or South Africa over the last couple of years because of the pace-friendly conditions in these countries.
Ravindra Jadeja, the number 1 ranked ICC Test all-rounder, is a lock in the XI, but R Ashwin, the number 1 Test bowler, is not.
In the past, India have tended to pick Shardul Thakur over R Ashwin to get an extra pacer in the side – Ashwin has missed India’s last 7 Test matches in England and played in South Africa on the last tour because Jadeja was injured.
Also, very important to note that the first two days of the first Test are forecasted to receive some rain; Centurion is also one of the most pace-friendly and spin-averse Test venues in the world. All factors indicate that Shardul, who picked 7 wickets in an innings in Jo’burg on the last tour, will get the nod over Ashwin.
Third pacer: Prasidh or Mukesh?
Shami’s injury has opened up another conundrum for Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid: whether to pick the uncapped Prasidh Krishna or Mukesh Kumar.
Mukesh, who made his Test debut in the West Indies, has attributes of seam position like Shami, but has a lower pace than Shami. Prasidh is the tallest bowler in the side and is renowned for his hit-the-deck bowling style. It is believed that the extra bounce he could generate on the South African pitches – as the Protea pacers did compared to the Indian pacers in the 2021/22 – series could be a key factor. Hence, Prasidh could be in line to make his Test debut in Centurion.
Where does KL Rahul bat?
With Ishan Kishan pulling out of the Test series to manage his reported “mental fatigue”, it is now all but confirmed that KL Rahul, who was also mentioned as a wicket-keeper in the squad announcement, will keep the wicket in Centurion over KS Bharat, who is drafted in as Kishan’s replacement. This would only be the second time in his career that Rahul starts a first-class game as a designated wicketkeeper.
KL Rahul scored a match-winning century in Centurion last time around. But he did that as an opener Now, though, the question is whether Rahul slots back as an opener or at number 3, replacing Shubman Gill, or Rahul slots in the middle-order at number 6/7. Rarely do wicket-keepers bat in the top-order in Test cricket because they need some rest after keeping wicket throughout an innings.
