Ajinkya Rahane is expected to keep his place in the Indian team but whether he would remain vice captain remains to be seen when the selectors announce the Test squad for the tour of South Africa on Wednesday.

It is learnt that announcement of the ODI squad could be delayed as the first match is on January 19 and the sensitive issue of Virat Kohli's future as white ball leader is at stake.

However, Rahane, whose place in the playing XI is under doubt, will find it difficult to retain his vice-captaincy after 12 consecutive failures that led the team management to drop him from the Mumbai Test on the pretext of hamstring niggles.

(With inputs from agencies)