Rohit Sharma is set to be named the vice-captain of the Indian Test team for the South Africa tour. According to a report by Times of India, Rohit's elevation as Virat Kohli's deputy is set to happen when the squad for the upcoming away series against South Africa is announced. The decision has been taken keeping in mind, Rahane's poor form. Ajinkya's place in the team has been under the scanner for a while. Over the last five years, he averages just around 36 in Test cricket. Earlier this year, Rahane made just 109 runs in 7 innings on the tour to England. The right-handed batter has led the team on multiple occasions in the past including the first Test in Kanpur where Kohli had taken a rest. He was the skipper of the team for three matches in India's historic series victory in Australia earlier this year.
After twin failures in Kanpur, Rahane's place in the team was under question with skipper Kohli coming back and Shreyas Iyer's impressive debut. However, he was ruled out of the game on the morning of the match due to a minor left hamstring strain. Earlier, Harbhajan Singh backed Shreyas Iyer to replace struggling Ajinkya Rahane in the middle-order position in India's Test batting line-up. Iyer was handed his debut Test cap in Kanpur, for the opener of the two-Test series against New Zealand last week, where he twice revived India after a top order failure scoring 105 and 65 to become the first from his country to notch up a century and a half-century score in maiden appearance in the format. “Shreyas Iyer batted brilliantly in the last game and showed his talent. And I am so happy that he made the most of the opportunity in the middle order. Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane is not scoring runs. Going forward, Iyer could be India's perfect solution. Don't know if Rahane will be a part of the India squad for the South Africa series but Iyer, I feel, has made his case as a middle-order option. It will be interesting when the selection happens,” he said speaking on his YouTube channel.
