|| CF DESK ||

Team India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session here in Mumbai yesterday (Sunday). He has been ruled out of the upcoming 3-match Test series against South Africa.

Priyank Panchal, who led India A during the just-concluded three-match series, has replaced the opener.

Rohit, who had been practicing at the Bandra Kurla Complex in Mumbai for the past week, was injured during one of those practice sessions, according to reports. It's still unclear whether he'll be able to play in the three-match ODI series for which he was selected captain, but the injury is proven to be serious.

When Rohit spoke about the limited-overs leadership in an interview with bcci.tv on Sunday, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the support personnel during the practice session.

Panchal, a Gujarati opener, scored 120 runs for India A in three innings at an average of 40, including a top score of 96 against South Africa A. He has appeared in 100 first-class matches, scoring 7011 runs at an average of 45.52 and scoring 24 centuries.

Meanwhile, South African star Quinton de Kock will miss at least the third Test against India as he awaits the birth of his first child. De Kock's wife Sasha is expected to give birth in early January, which could rule him out of both the second and third Tests, especially given bio-bubble conditions.

India’s Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj