Rishabh Pant will captain India in the five-T20I series against South Africa.
Team India suffered a major blow on the eve of the first T20I against South Africa in Delhi as KL Rahul, who was appointed as the skipper for the five-match T20I series, was ruled out due to injury.
BCCI on Wednesday (8th June) announced that Rahul suffered a groin injury and will miss the T20I series. Apart from him, leg-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was also ruled out of the five T20Is as he injured his hand while batting in the nets ahead of the first game.
Rishabh Pant was named the skipper of the side with Hardik Pandya being his deputy. The T20I series would’ve made Rahul only the sixth captain to lead India in all three formats of the game.
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As he was ruled out of the T20I, Rahul took to his official Twitter account and penned down an emotional message. The right-hander expressed his disappointment on missing out on leading India for the first time at home. He thanked fans for his support and also wished Pant luck for the series.
“Hard to accept but I begin another challenge today. Gutted not to be leading the side for the first time at home, but the boys have all my support from the sidelines. Heartfelt thanks to all for your support. Wishing Rishabh and the boys all the luck for the series. See you soon," Rahul Tweeted.
BCCI so far has not named any replacement for the Rahul and Kuldeep. In the absence of the former, one between Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer is likely to open the innings for India along with Ishan Kishan.
After the first game in Delhi, the second and third games will be played on the 12th and 14th of June in Cuttack and Vishakhapatnam respectively. The fourth and fifth match is slated to take place on the 17th and 19th of June in Rajkot and Bengaluru.