Virat Kohli Misses 2nd SA Test; KL Rahul Captains With Jasprit Bumrah as Deputy

KL Rahul won the toss and India have opted to bat first in the second Test.

Virat Kohli during a training session

Image: Virat Kohli/Twitter 

India are without their regular skipper Virat Kohli in the second Test at Johannesburg and KL Rahul has walked out for the toss with Dean Elgar.

Rahul confirmed that Virat has had a back spasm which has forced him out of the game. India have brought in Hanuma Vihari for the injured Kohli.

KL Rahul won the toss and opted to bat first against South Africa and has Jasprit Bumrah as his deputy for this Test.

“Unfortunately VIrat has had an upper back spasm and hopefully he'll recover for the next Test. It is every Indian player's dream to captain his country. Really honoured and looking forward to this challenge. We have had a few good wins here and hopefully we'll look to continue that. Hanuma Vihari comes in place of VIrat. Just the one change. It was a good Test at Centurion overall. We really performed well as a team and are really excited about this match,” KL Rahul said at the toss.

"Team India captain Mr Virat Kohli had a spasm on his upper back this morning. He won’t feature in the second Test against South Africa at The Wanderers. The BCCI medical team will be monitoring him during the course of this Test match. KL Rahul will captain the side in his absence. The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain for the 2nd Test. Team India batsman Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of selection for the 2nd Test owing to a stomach bug," the BCCI said in a statement.

India began the Test series with vice-captain Rohit Sharma ruled out due to injury which saw Rahul then be appointed as the deputy. Rahul will also be leading the ODI side after the Test series as Rohit continues to recover from a hamstring injury at the NCA in Bengaluru.

The Indian team led by Virat Kohli won the first Test in emphatic style, registering a 113-run victory and taking a 1-0 lead at Centurion. India’s bowlers were in good form and South Africa are without Quinton de Kock.

Teams: 

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

South Africa Playing XI: 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