Nothing is going Virat Kohli's way. Not even the ICC T20I Rankings.
The former Team India T20 captain slipped from fourth to eigth in the batters rankings, whereas his companion KL Rahul climbed to fifth.
Rahul's next big assignment will be against New Zealand, when he takes charge as vice-captain of the Men in Blue, under the stewardship of Rohit Sharma.
From the squad:
Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal rightfully got his place in the squad back while Mohammed Siraj, who has played a few T20Is in the past, is also in the mix. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar, who were in the T20 World Cup reserves are now in the main squad.
"I don't know who all spread this misinformation but when Rohit Sharma is available, there are no other options for white ball captaincy at the moment. Yes, KL Rahul is around but he is only being considered as a deputy for time being," a senior BCCI official had made it clear.
"Obviously, when Rohit takes a break he will lead but he is the white ball leader going forward," he said.
While BCCI didn't say anything about ODI captaincy, it is understood that the it wants one white ball captain going into the 2023 50-over World Cup and a decision for the three-match ODI series in South Africa will be taken at an appropriate time.
"I am still not sure if the board will retain Virat as ODI captain. There will be some discussions but chances are bleak. He will certainly remain the Test captain," the official said.
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja have also been given much-needed rest for the short series.
(With PTI inputs)