Ishan Kishan withdraws from South Africa Tests; Bharat called-up

On Sunday (December 17), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named 30-year-old KS Bharat as the replacement after Ishan Kishan withdrew from the squad for the two-match South Africa Tests. 

“Mr Ishan Kishan has requested the BCCI to be released from the upcoming Test series against South Africa citing personal reasons. The wicket-keeper has subsequently been withdrawn from the Test squad,” BCCI said in a press release. 

Bharat, who has been named as the captain of the Indian ‘A’ side last represented India in the final of the 2023 World Test Championship (WTC) final, where India lost to Australia. Bharat might have to fight it out with Rahul for a place in the Indian Test setup as the wicketkeeper-batter. 

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna, KS Bharat (wk)