India were dealt a huge blow before the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg as their skipper Virat Kohli was ruled out of the game due to upper back spasm. While Hanuma Vihari was rewarded for three half-centuries against South Africa A last year in Kohli’s absence, Shreyas Iyer was unavailable for selection.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement that Iyer missed out due to a “stomach bug”. Iyer had a fantastic debut Test series in home conditions against New Zealand. The Mumbai batter scored a century followed by a half-century on his Test debut in Kanpur which ended in a draw due to visitors’ last stand’s resilience.
"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain for the 2nd Test. Team India batsman Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of selection for the 2nd Test owing to a stomach bug," the BCCI statement read.
With Rahul taking over as captain, India’s pace bowling spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been appointed as the vice-captain of the side.
Earlier Bumrah had been appointed as India’s vice-captain for the limited-overs series on January 19. Rahul will be leading the team in the white-ball format as well in absence of an injured Rohit Sharma who was made captain after Virat Kohli was sacked.
On the other hand, with Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara disappointing in the first innings at the Wanderers stadium getting out of consecutive deliveries from Duanne Olivier, it is likely that Iyer gets a chance in place of one of these two. Pujara was surprised by the extra bounce and got caught at point whereas Rahane knicked one to the second slip fielder trying to poke at a delivery outside off stump. While Rahane contributed with a 48-run knock in previous Test, Pujara has struggled to score on South African pitches with just 19 runs from three innings
