Virat Kohli is set to miss the One-Day International (ODI) series in South Africa while Rohit Sharma is expected to recover from his hamstring injury in time for the three ODIs, sources told NDTV on Tuesday. Sources told NDTV that Virat has requested the BCCI to opt out of the South Africa ODI series and it is upto the board to accept or deny the request. On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had announced that Rohit Sharma will miss the three-match Test series in South Africa due to a left hamstring injury sustained during a training session in Mumbai. Sources also informed NDTV that Rohit should recover in time and will be back to lead the team in what will be his first assignment as full-time ODI skipper.
According to sources, Rohit Sharma will take about a month to recover from his hamstring injury. The three-match ODI series starts on January 19 at Boland Park, Paarl. The second ODI will be played at the same venue on January 21 while the third and final match of the series will be played on January 23 at Newlands in Cape Town.
On Monday, the BCCI announced that Rohit Sharma had been ruled out of the Test series with opening batter Priyank Panchal, who was part of the India A tour to the country earlier this month, named as his replacement.
"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," a BCCI tweet stated.
Rohit was named as India's white-ball captain and elevated as the vice-captain in Tests on December 8.
India are slated to play three Tests and as many ODIs in South Africa. The tour begins with the first Test on December 26.
Rohit was rested for the two-match Test series against New Zealand, which India won 1-0.