Team India will be involved in a three-match Test series against South Africa from December 26th. After the disappointing result in 2018, India will be keen to win the series against the Proteas. The team is also placed well-to-do that. Meanwhile, from the squad that toured the last time, there are some changes in the current unit. In this article, we take a look at eight players who were part of the South Africa Tests in 2018 but are not in the squad now.
1) Shikhar Dhawan
Shikhar Dhawan is one of the players who were part of the South Africa Tests in 2018 but are not in the squad now. After a stunning debut in the Test arena, Dhawan opened the batting for India in the red-ball format for a while. However, once he started losing form, he could not get back on track. Hence, he was dropped from the team. Dhawan, who scored 32 runs in that series in one game, last played a Test back in 2018.
2) Murali Vijay
Since the Tour of Australia in 2018, Murali Vijay has not played a Test game for India. He had a difficult campaign in South Africa, where he could manage an average of just 17 in three games. He is not in the scheme of things at the moment, and the likes of Mayank Agarwal and KL Rahul have taken the opening slot now.
3) Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is one of the best Test batters for India at the moment. However, unfortunately, a suffered a left hamstring injury and will miss the Tests against South Africa. Incidentally, Rohit was also appointed as the vice-captain of the squad for the event.
4) Ravindra Jadeja
Similar to Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja was also in line to travel to South Africa. However, an injury ruled him out of the series. It will be a big blow for Team India, considering Jaddu added balance to the squad. The team will now have to accommodate R Ashwin as the spinner and might have to compromise on either of the departments.
5) Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel is also one of the players who were part of the South Africa Tests in 2018 but are not in the squad now. The Gujarat player was in the squad as the reserve keeper. He also got to play two games in that tournament. However, he could not make justice to his selection as he could get just 56 runs in them.
6) Dinesh Karthik
Although he was initially considered in Tests, Dinesh Karthik was later restricted to the shorter formats. However, back in 2018, DK got a few opportunities in the red-ball game. In fact, he was part of the team that toured South Africa in 2018. He replaced Wriddhima Saha, who injured himself in that tournament.
7) Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya was a revelation in the 2018 series against South Africa. Including a knock of 93, he totally made 119 runs in that series, apart from contributing with the ball. He was India’s second-highest run-getter in that tournament after Virat Kohli. At the moment, he is not bowling and hence, is not being considered for Tests.
8) Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Bhuvneshwar Kumar played two games in that tournament, scoring 101 runs and collecting ten wickets. Thanks to his ability to swing the ball, Bhuvi played quite a few Tests at the start of his career. However, after injuries started creeping in, Bhuvi could not play a lot of red-ball cricket. In the current scenario, he is not being viewed as a Test player.
