Rohit Sharma to be made India's Test vice-captain for South Africa tour: Reports

T20I captain Rohit Sharma is likely to be selected as Test vice-captain for India's upcoming tour of South Africa, The Times of India reported on Saturday. This comes against the backdrop of Virat Kohli's current deputy Ajinkya Rahane's poor batting form and his injury-forced absence from the ongoing Mumbai Test against New Zealand.

According to the report, Rohit Sharma is being seen as a key member of India's leadership group since his elevation to captaincy in the shortest format. The senior opener also had a "big say" in the selection of India's squad for the New Zealand Tests.

A Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) official told the daily:

"The selection meeting will happen in a few days. It is likely that Rohit will be made the vice-captain of the Test team."

The official also confirmed that the South Africa tour, which was slated to begin on December 17 with the first of a three-Test rubber, will now begin with the Boxing Day Test on December 26. The nine-day delay is for monitoring the situation around the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19.

The official said:

"The Indian team is committed to travel to South Africa. However, the tour will not go on as per schedule. BCCI has communicated to Cricket South Africa (CSA) that it could start the tour with the Boxing Day Test."

India are slated to play three Tests (December 17 - January 7), three ODIs (January 11-16) and four T20Is (January 19-26) in South Africa. The players are supposed to leave on December 8, one day after the conclusion of the New Zealand series. But it's unlikely that the schedule will go ahead as planned.

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One Test and T20I could be reduced from India's tour of South Africa: BCCI official

Rohit Sharma's first tour as Test vice-captain and full-time T20 captain could see a reduction of a Test and T20 each. In this regard, the BCCI official said:

"The tour will be curtailed. The travel plans are being worked out. It's unlikely the team will leave on December 8. As of now, it looks like the two boards will have to compromise and agree to play two Tests instead of the initially planned three. Maybe a T20I could also be reduced," the official added.

The players rested from the New Zealand series - Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur and Rishabh Pant - have all reached Mumbai to start their quarantine for the tour.