India vs South Africa 2021: Rohit Sharma ruled out of Test series, BCCI yet to announce new vice captain

What comes as a major blow for Team India, new Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the three-match Test series against South Africa. The 34-year-old injured himself while practising at Bandra Kurla Complex. Priyank Panchal, Gujarat batter, will be his cover, confirmed Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah on Monday.

"Team India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session here in Mumbai yesterday. He has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa. Priyank Panchal will replace Rohit Sharma in the Test squad," BCCI said in a statement.

Notably, BCCI is yet to announce a new vice-captain for the series.

NEWS - Priyank Panchal replaces injured Rohit Sharma in India's Test squad.

Rohit sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session here in Mumbai yesterday. He has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa.#SAvIND | @PKpanchal9 pic.twitter.com/b8VgoN52LW — BCCI (@BCCI) December 13, 2021

Rohit’s participation in the ODI series is also doubtful as the nature of the injury is said to be serious. He was practicing in Mumbai for the last one week to gear up for the upcoming three-match series.

Last week, Rohit was named India's Test vice-captain and he was also given the rein of white-ball format. Rohit Sharma, India's new white-ball skipper, lavished praise on Virat Kohli for leading the team from the front.

"He's (Kohli) put the team in the situation where there is no looking back. Those five years that he has led the team led from the front every time we stepped onto the park. And yeah! there was a clear grit and determination to win every game that was the message to the entire squad," Rohit said in an interview posted on the BCCI website

"We had a great time playing under him obviously we played I played a lot of cricket under him and enjoyed every moment and I will still continue to do that," he added.

The Test series starts on December 26.

India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj