Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma Not Named In India A Squad For One-Day Series vs South Africa A

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, the veteran duo who recently made a return to international cricket after seven months in the India vs Australia ODI series, have not been picked in India A's three-match white-ball series against the touring South Africa A side. The games are scheduled in Rajkot on November 13, 16, and 19 - all day/night fixtures. There was speculation that since the veteran cricketers only play one format, the two might be playing India A matches for more match-time.

Rohit and Virat, both former Indian captains, were impressive despite early hiccups. Rohit, after scoring 8 in the first match, slammed 73 and 121 not out in the second and third ODIs. He even won the 'Player of the Series' award. Kohli, after getting out on 0 in the first two matches, scored 74 not out in the third match. The situation might have been different had the two not performed well in Australia.

India A's squad for one-day team: Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK)

India's batting icon and one of modern-day cricket's greatest success stories, Virat Kohli, turned 37 on Wednesday. Since bursting onto the international cricket scene back in 2008 as a chubby-faced teenager from the streets of West Delhi, the veteran batter has reached a stratosphere in world cricket that few have achieved, accumulating a mix of personal and team accomplishments that could leave almost any major cricketer from his time envious. 

Right from his days as a youngster who led India to a U19 World Cup title in Kuala Lumpur, it was clear that Virat was cut from a different cloth and, in some ways, was of a different mould than his seniors - Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, and Sourav Ganguly. While he reminded people of Sachin with his consistency and rock-solid technique over the years, and of Ganguly with his on-field aggression, he took the positives from these aforementioned legends and transformed them into something bigger as the leader of India's next generation, alongside MS Dhoni and Rohit Sharma.

Virat wore India's whites for 123 Tests, scoring 9,230 runs at an average of 46.85, with 30 centuries and 31 fifties, and a best score of 254*, ending his Test career as India's fourth-highest run-getter.

Virat experienced one of the strongest prime runs in Test cricket from 2016 to 2019, scoring 4,208 runs in 43 Tests at an average of 66.79, including 16 centuries and 10 fifties, with a stunning seven double tons - the most by a captain in Test cricket.

With IANS inputs 

Topics mentioned in this article

Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma India Cricket Team India A South Africa Cricket Team Cricket