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The fans were taken aback when they saw KL Rahul walking out for a toss instead of Virat Kohli in the second Test against South Africa at the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg.
Rahul, along with Proteas skipper Dean Elgar proceeded with the toss process where the Karnataka batter revealed why regular skipper Kohli was missing. Rahul disclosed that Kohli suffered an upper back spasm, and team physios are working to make sure the Delhi-lad gets fit for the next match.
“Unfortunately, Virat has had an upper back spasm, the physios are working on him, and hopefully he’ll recover for the next Test,” said Rahul after winning the toss.
India picked middle-order batter Hanuma Vihari to replace Kohli in the match. Upon leading the side, Rahul said it was an honour, and he is looking forward to the new responsibility.
“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. Hanuma Vihari comes in place of Virat. Just the one change. It was a good Test at Centurion overall. We really performed well as a team and are really excited about this match,” added Rahul.
Here are the playing XIs of both sides:
India: KL Rahul(c), Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant(wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
South Africa: Dean Elgar(c), Aiden Markram, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Temba Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne(wk), Marco Jansen, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Duanne Olivier, Lungi Ngidi
