KL Rahul named vice-captain as India begin preparations for South Africa Test series

Top-order batsman replaces Rohit Sharma who has been ruled out due to hamstring injury

Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj with the India team at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for their tour of South Africa. AFP

India's National Cricket team members arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg, on December 16, 2021 at the start of their 2021-2022 Tour of South Africa . (Photo by Phill Magakoe / AFP)

India seamer Ishant Sharma in Johannesburg for the South Africa tour. The team will play three Tests and three ODIs. AP

Indian players arrive at the OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg. AFP

Rishabh Pant arrives with the Indian team in Johannesburg. AP

Cheteshwar Pujara arrives with his India teammates in Johannesburg. AP

India coach Rahul Dravid arrives for the South Africa tour. AP

Umesh Yadav, centre, with his India teammates at the OR Tambo Airport in Johannesburg. AP

Top-order batsman KL Rahul was on Saturday named vice-captain of the Indian team for the Test series against South Africa. Rahul replaces Rohit Sharma, who has been ruled out of the Test series due to a hamstring injury.

The build-up to India's tour to South Africa has been far from routine, with Virat Kohli losing his ODI captaincy to Sharma and then stating he was informed of the decision just before the announcement. Kohli also contradicted the statements of BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly regarding T20 captaincy, pointing to a breakdown in communication within Indian cricket.

With rising cases in South Africa and other parts of the world linked to the new Omicron variant, the tour itself was clouded in uncertainty up until recently. But the Indian team landed in Johannesburg at the weekend, and started preparations for the Tests.

The promotion of Rahul to the vice-captain's position means regular deputy Ajinkya Rahane - who guided a depleted India to a famous Test series win in Australia - has been sidelined. Rahul is one of the few all-formats batsmen in the team and is likely to be groomed as captain of the red and white-ball outfits.

The first Test starts in Centurion on Boxing Day. India will also play three ODIs, with Kohli confirming his availability for the one-day leg of the tour and rubbishing reports of a rift with new white-ball captain Sharma.