IND vs SA: KL Rahul joins Gavaskar, Azharuddin in unique list after being named skipper for Johannesburg Test

Regular captain Virat Kohli suffered an upper back spasm ahead of the second Test and hence missed out on his appearance in the Johannesburg game

India's stand-in skipper KL Rahul on Monday joined former India skippers Mohammad Azharuddin and Sunil Gavaskar in a unique list of captain after he was handed the responsibility to lead the Indian side in the second Test against South Africa in Johannesburg.

India's KL Rahul (AP)

Regular captain Virat Kohli suffered an upper back spasm ahead of the second Test and hence missed out on his appearance in the Johannesburg game. Rahul, who was the stand-in vice-captain after Rohit Sharma was rested for the Test series, was asked to lead the side in the second Test with India eyeing a historic series win. This is the first time Rahul is leading an Indian team in any format of the game.

With the announcement, Rahul became the first Indian skipper since Azharuddin in 1990 to lead the Indian team in a Test match ahead of his debut appearance as a captain in the limited-overs game. Some of the other captains include Gavaskar, BS Bedi, Ajit Wadekar and few others.

"It is every Indian player's dream to captain his country. Really honoured and looking forward to this challenge. We have had a few good wins here and hopefully we'll look to continue that," Rahul said after winning the toss and opting to bat first at the Wanderers.

Rahul will later lead the Indian team in the three-match ODI series against South Africa which will begin from January 19 at Paarl.

He was named the captain after Rohit failed to recover from his hamstring injury he incurred during the home Test series against New Zealand in November.