Indian cricket team on Thursday (December 16) departed for South Africa to take part in the three-match Test series, starting on December 26, followed by three ODIs next month. The official account of BCCI shared pictures from the flight on their way to Johannesburg.
The pictures captured Cheteshwar Pujara and Ajinkya Rahane sitting next to each other. Shardul Thakur was accompanied by speedster Mohammed Siraj, while fast bowlers Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, and Umesh Yadav posed solo.
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"All buckled up ✌???? South Africa bound ✈️???????? #TeamIndia #SAvIND," wrote BCCI on Instagram. Fans missed Rohit Sharma in the pictures as he isn't flying with the team due to a hamstring injury and Priyank Panchal was named as the replacement in the Test squad.
A day before departing for South Africa, captain Virat Kohli addressed the media and said the team will miss Rohit in the upcoming Test series. Rohit was appointed as vice-captain for the Test series before suffering an injury.
"Will miss his abilities a lot. He's proven in England already that he's really worked his Test game out, and the opening partnership was very important for us to play in that series. Obviously, with his experience and skill, we will miss those qualities," said Virat Kohli in a virtual conference.
"That said, it's an opportunity for Mayank [Agarwal] and KL [Rahul] to step up and solidify that start for us and make sure the good work is carried on in this series," he added.
(With ANI Inputs)
