India batsman Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the three-Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury and will be replaced by Priyank Panchal, the country’s cricket board (BCCI) said on Tuesday.
Rohit, who replaced Virat Kohli as India’s white-ball skipper last week, picked up the injury to his left hamstring during a training session in Mum-bai on Sunday. Panchal, 31, was part of the India ‘A’ side that played in a three-match unofficial test series in South Africa earlier this month.
The first Test is scheduled to start in Pretoria from Dec 26. Meanwhile, the home team’s wicket-keeper/batter Quinton de Kock could also miss the second and third Test matches, with his wife expect-ing the birth of their child in early January, ESPN Cricinfo website reported on Monday. The second Test is set to start on Jan 3 in Jo-hannesburg while the final Test is scheduled for Jan 11 in Cape Town.—APP
