'His body didn't allow ... ': Rishabh Pant gives major update on Shubman Gill

NEW DELHI: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and elected to bat against India in the second Test on Saturday. The Proteas lead the two-match series 1-0 after a 30-run win in the first Test at Kolkata.


Rishabh Pant stepped in as India’s captain, replacing Shubman Gill, who was ruled out due to a neck injury sustained in the first Test. India also made two more changes, with B Sai Sudharsan and Nitish Kumar Reddy coming in for Gill and Axar Patel.

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"Definitely a proud moment. As a cricketer, you always aspire to lead your country. And I'm thankful to the BCCI for giving me this opportunity. Didn't think about it, but at the same time, you want to grab it with both hands and do the best for the team. The environment is like, focus on yourself, look at the area where we can improve as a team and just come together and fight each and every moment," Pant said during the toss.

"We feel the wicket is good for batting. But at the same time, bowling first is not a bad option either," he added.


"Shubman is getting well slowly, slowly. He was very eager to play the match. But at the same time, his body didn't allow it. He's going to come back stronger. Instead of Shubman, Nitish Reddy comes in. And for Axar, Sai Sudharsan comes in," Pant said.

South Africa made a single change, with Senuran Muthusamy replacing Corbin Bosch.

"We've got to start afresh. Today is another day. The boys are looking forward to it. Wicket looks a lot better. All fundamentals stay the same. Bat first, try to get a big score first up and then play the game from there. (On the pitch) A lot more consistent (grass), no cracks really. Probably expected to play well the first two days," Bavuma said.

"Very excited, we know the Indian faithful always come out and play their part. Happy to be a part of this historic moment, being the first Test. Hopefully, we can keep the historic moments going in our favour. One change. Muthusamy comes in and Bosch is out," he added.

Teams:

India:

KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.

South Africa: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Wiaan Mulder, Temba Bavuma (c), Tony de Zorzi, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Senuran Muthusamy, Simon Harmer, Keshav Maharaj.

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