India's newly-appointed vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the upcoming three-match Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury. Days after the BCCI announced that Rohit will replace Ajinkya Rahane as the side's VC, they revealed the sorry news for Indian fans. As expected, the news received mixed reactions on Twitter, with some fans lashing out on Rohit.
In a statement put out on Twitter, the cricket board also disclosed that they have included Priyank Panchal as his replacement.
"Team India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma 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. Priyank Panchal will replace Rohit Sharma in the Test squad," the BCCI tweeted.
Here are some of the reactions from the world of Twitter:
It is a big blow for team India as they will miss the services of their regular opener. Ever since he started opening in Tests, the 34-year-old has amassed 1462 runs from 14 matches at an impressive average of 58.48 with five centuries. During India's recent tour of England, Sharma scored 368 runs, including an impressive 127 at the Oval.
{{/usCountry}}It is a big blow for team India as they will miss the services of their regular opener. Ever since he started opening in Tests, the 34-year-old has amassed 1462 runs from 14 matches at an impressive average of 58.48 with five centuries. During India's recent tour of England, Sharma scored 368 runs, including an impressive 127 at the Oval.
{{/usCountry}}Moreover, he is currently India's highest run-scorer in the longest format this year, peeling off 906 runs in 11 games.
The Board has not announced a stand-in vice-captain but it is expected that KL Rahul is the front-runner for being Virat Kohli's deputy during the Tests.
Other contenders could be Rishabh Pant and Ravichandran Ashwin considering that Ajinkya Rahane has been removed from the role with his place in the eleven not being assured. The Tests will wind up on January 15 followed by three ODIs, scheduled to begin on January 19 in Paarl.
The 34-year-old Rohit also sustained a hit on his hands at the Mumbai nets while taking throwdowns from Raghavendra aka Raghu