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The BCCI has decided to delay the selection committee meeting for the ODIs in South Africa till the end of this month to get a clear picture on new white-ball captain Rohit Sharma's left-hamstring injury status. Rohit has been doing his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but it could still take some time for the Indian captain to regain full fitness.

"The team selection meeting will happen after the first Test. It could be on December 30 or 31st but the BCCI is yet to take a final call. Rohit is pulling all stops to get fit but hamstring injuries are a bit different from other injuries.

"It has been learnt that Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are unavailable for selection. About Rohit, a call will be taken closer to the selection date," a senior BCCI official told a news agency on conditions of anonymity.

India's strong opening day show may have put South Africa on the backfoot in the first Test in Centuion but the home side pacer Lungi Ngidi on Sunday (December 26) said they still can turn the match around if they can bowl the tourists out under 350. Vice-captain KL Rahul slammed an unbeaten 122, while his opening partner Mayank Agarwal struck a resolute 123-ball 60 as India rode on the duo's century-plus opening stand to end day one on 272/3.

"It's Test cricket, you win sessions, you lose sessions. All in all, it's been a good day of cricket. There's still a lot on that wicket. Things can happen quickly," the 25-year-old said at the press conference after the day's proceedings.

Former Indian team head coach Ravi Shastri has reacted to the number of developments that have taken place in the senior men's cricket team post the end of his tenure. Post his exit, he has been succeeded by Rahul Dravid whereas Virat Kohli recently got removed as the ODI captain, with Rohit Sharma replacing him as the limited-overs skipper.

For the unversed, Rohit had already succeeded Kohli as the T20I captain post the World Cup in the UAE. In mid-September, the 33-year-old Kohli had revealed that the mega event in the UAE will be his last assignment as the T20I skipper. Thus, Shastri has opened up on Rohit taking over as the white-ball captain and the ODI captaincy row, created due to contrasting statements from Kohli and BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly. 

India captain Virat Kohli and wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant are on the verge of reaching major milestones in Test cricket, ahead of their three-match series against South Africa starting December 26 in Centurion.

Kohli is 199 runs away from completing 8000 runs in Test cricket. The 33-year-old will become the 6th Indian batsman to achieve the feat whenever he gets to the landmark during the three Tests against the Proteas.

Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid, Sunil Gavaskar, VVS Laxman and Virender Sehwag are the first five Indians to reach 8000 Test runs.

Preparations have already begun both on and off the field, as Team India gear up to clash with South Africa at the SuperSport Park in Centurion on Sunday. The BCCI on Wednesday dropped a fun video from the official photoshoot, ahead of the first meeting between the two sides. 

In the 56 second long video, Indian players can be seen donning their famous white-test kit, as they pose and get clicked by the photographer. It can be also seen that the photographer is completely covered inside a PPE kit, showcasing that Cricket South Africa are indeed taking all the necessary measures in order to curb the spread of the deadly Omicron variant of Covid-19.