Team India will be playing their first Test since July, as they are gearing up for the two-match Test series against South Africa which is scheduled to commence from December 26, Tuesday. India will look to end their Test series' winless drought against Proteas on South African soil. This series marks the comeback of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, who are ready for their first international game since the heartbreak in the ODI World Cup final in November, where they faced a heavy defeat against Australia. With a 31-year-long absence of a Test series win in South Africa, both players, in the latter stages of their careers, are keen to achieve what no other Indian team has managed.
KL Rahul, another experienced player, rejoins the Test squad after recovering from an injury. He had made a comeback to the ODI team in the Asia Cup earlier this year but missed the World Test Championship final in June and the series against West Indies due to an injury sustained during the 2023 IPL.
Rahul is poised for a new responsibility as he returns to the Test arena. Having served as the wicketkeeper in the ODI format during the World Cup, head coach Rahul Dravid has nearly confirmed that Rahul will continue this role in the Test series against South Africa. In a pre-match press conference on December 24, Dravid mentioned that Rahul is confident about taking up the wicketkeeping duties in the Test format.
“It's an exciting challenge. It's an opportunity for him to do something different. With Ishan unavailable, we had a couple of keepers to choose from. Rahul is very confident about giving it a go. We understand that he hasn't done that quite often (in longest format), but he has done it in fifty overs, and even that is tough,” Dravid said.
“He has done a lot of keeping in the past five-six months. One of the things here is that there is more pace bowling than spin, which will ease him into the role. We will see how it goes. It is nice to have someone like him, someone who has the ability with the bat and keep,” Dravid further added.
Recently, Rahul led the Indian team to a 2-1 victory in the ODI series against South Africa, where he also assumed the role of wicketkeeper in the crucial final match.
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