India vs South Africa: Jasprit Bumrah appointed vice-captain for second Test, Shreyas Iyer misses out due to stomach bug

India's bowler Jasprit Bumrah during the fourth day of the Test Cricket match between South Africa and India at Centurion Park in Pretoria, South Africa, Wednesday, Dec. 29, 2021. AP

Johannesburg: India's leading pacer Jasprit Bumrah was on Monday appointed vice-captain for the second Test against South Africa after KL Rahul was elevated as skipper in the absence of injured Virat Kohli.

Besides regular captain Kohli, who is missing the crucial match owing to upper back spasm, middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of the game due to a stomach bug, the BCCI said in a statement.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named Jasprit Bumrah as vice-captain for the 2nd Test," the Board statement read, adding, "Team India batsman Shreyas Iyer was also ruled out of selection for the 2nd Test owing to a stomach bug."

Iyer made a magnificent start to his Test career, scoring a hundred and a half-century on debut in the home series against New Zealand towards the end of last year.

Bumrah had been appointed vice-captain for the limited overs series against the Proteas starting 19 January, a move that was widely seen as an acknowledgement for his all-format consistency over the years.

Regarding Kohli, the BCCI said the superstar batter "had a spasm on his upper back this morning".

"He won't feature in the second Test against South Africa at The Wanderers. The BCCI medical team will be monitoring him during the course of this Test match."

Kohli, who has been battling a prolonged lean patch with the willow, will thus not be able to complete his landmark 100th Test in the series-finale at Cape Town.

The 33-year-old will be playing in the ODI series against the Proteas starting January 19. Rahul will captain India in that rubber as newly-appointed white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma is out injured.

As per the Indian team's fixtures, Kohli, if all goes well, will now get to play his 100th Test against Sri Lanka at Bengaluru in February.

The visiting team won the series-opener last week and is now eyeing its maiden Test series triumph in South Africa.

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