Indian skipper Virat Kohli had taken some bold calls when it came to the selection of the playing XI for the first Test in Cape Town of the ongoing three-match series against South Africa.

While the inclusion of pacer Jasprit Bumrah ahead of veterans like Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav worked in the team’s favor, the move to drop deputy skipper Ajinkya Rahane and include in-form Rohit Sharma backfired.

Rohit struggled against the South African pacers, managing only 21 runs at Newlands, where the pitch offered quite a lot of pace, bounce and lateral movement even on the fourth day of the wicket.

Kohli even revealed he had made the selection call on the basis of “recent form” after the 72-run defeat in the first Test. Prominently, Rahane had a poor run against Sri Lanka in the three-match Test series at home last year as he managed only 17 runs from three matches.

Despite Rohit’s good run in the recent past might once again earn him a place in the squad in the Centurion Test as well, as Virat has a tendency to back his brave calls.

Meanwhile, India will also be looking to replace Shikhar Dhawan with KL Rahul as the Delhi batsman looked clueless against the hosts’ pace attack in both the innings at Newlands. While the former is attacking option at the top of the order, Rahul has a calm demeanor in his technique which will help him to excel in South Africa.

Off-spinner R Ashwin is expected to retain his spot as Team India will want to have a spinner in the squad and he also gives an apt back-up to the batting line-up as well. The fast-bowling all-rounder Hardik Pandya also makes it easier for the captain when it comes to choosing his bowling unit for the second Test.

Cricshots’ Predicted XI for the Centurion Test: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay, Virat Kohli (c), Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane/ Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), R Ashwin, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.