Mumbai: India Test vice-captain Rohit Sharma was ruled out of the upcoming three-match series against South Africa.
Priyank Panchal will replace Rohit in the Test squad after the vice-captain sustained a left hamstring injury during his training session on Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said.
The Ahmedabad-born Panchal has played 100 first class matches. He was earlier part of an extended India squad that played against England in four Tests at home. Panchal, who leads Gujarat in domestic cricket, was among the reserve openers for the series alongside Abhimanyu Easwaran.
Panchal, who is 31, led India A against South Africa in the three four-day games in Bloemfontein. He scored 96, 24 and 0 in his three innings on tour.
India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj. (UNI)