India tour of South Africa 2023: Netizens hail Sai Sudharsan, Chahal and Samson's inclusion as Men in Blue unveil squads

BCCI's announcement of India's squads for the upcoming multi-format tour of South Africa had its fair share of surprises, with skipper Rohit Sharma and batting superstar Virat Kohli opting to take an extended break from the white-ball formats after the rigours of the ICC World Cup. Instead, Suryakumar Yadav will continue leading in T20Is in the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya while wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul takes over the reins for the three ODIs. Rohit and Kohli then return to action in the two Tests that take place in Centurion and Cape Town respectively.

The squads also had its fair share of fresh faces, as well as a few returning seniors, which did elicit its fair share of reactions on social media. For starters, consistent performers in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and domestic cricket have been rewarded with the BCCI including Gujarat Titans’ B Sai Sudharsan and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s Rajat Patidar in the ODI squad. Both players are uncapped at the international level and could stand a chance to make their much-awaited debuts in the upcoming tour. Sai Sudharsan was the toast of many a netizen on microblogging website X, formerly known as Twitter.  

Different 🔵; same Sai Su!

We're proud on his #TeamIndia selection 🇮🇳#AavaDe pic.twitter.com/BVoTuj1mNM

— Gujarat Titans (@gujarat_titans) November 30, 2023

👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼👌🏽👌🏽👌🏽 https://t.co/tOFpgOigbW

— DK (@DineshKarthik) November 30, 2023

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Excellent news. Good luck, young man.. https://t.co/gr1k6SxcwB

— WV Raman (@wvraman) November 30, 2023

      Additionally, wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal were also included in the ODI squad after being overlooked for the World Cup.  

Here we go AGAIN! 🇮🇳💙 pic.twitter.com/x4l3Yk91Ee

— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) November 30, 2023

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Good day for Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal. Snubbed for the World Cup, both are in the ODI squad for South Africa

— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) November 30, 2023

  Former India pacer Irfan Pathan questioned why express pacer Umran Malik did not even find a place in the India A squad.  

I’m pretty sure the guy who was in the Indian team’s playing 11 few months back can surely find a place in India A side. #umranmalik

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) November 30, 2023

  There were also reactions to the possibility of India moving on from Test stalwarts Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara and limited-overs specialist Bhuvneshwar Kumar for good  

Fantastic cricketers who had a lot of success but looks like The End for Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Umesh Yadav

— Sahil Malhotra (@Sahil_Malhotra1) November 30, 2023

An end of glorious Test career for Ajinkya Rahane.

Shreyas Iyer has been given preference over him after captain Rohit Sharma requested the selectors. #INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/hkWwxECKlD

— Himanshu Pareek (@Sports_Himanshu) November 30, 2023