One of the most talked about aspects in the lead up to the second Test between South Africa and India at the Centurion was the playing XI of both the teams. India’s selection was more under the scanner after the batting collapse in the first Test.
However, the Indian skipper Virat Kohli made three changes, but the one that caught the limelight was dropping Bhuvneshwar Kumar for the more experienced Ishant Sharma.
Kumar played a crucial role in helping India save some embarrassment in the first innings as he not only picked early wickets but also because he also made a huge contribution with the bat while batting alongside Hardik Pandya.
Bringing in Ishant Sharma for Bhuvneshwar has raised quite a few eyebrows, and one of the best fast bowlers to have played the game, Allan Donald reacted rather angrily.
https://twitter.com/AllanDonald33/status/952085015826980865
Apart from replacing Kumar with Ishant Sharma, Virat also brought in Parthiv Patel for Wriddhiman Saha as he got some niggle in his hamstring and KL Rahul for Shikhar Dhawan.
Indian Twitterati also went furious with these changes and here are some of the reactions:
https://twitter.com/Dipankar162/status/952103737346048001
Three wrong answers from Virat Kohli today –
1. Rohit or Rahane? Rohit. ✘
2. Ishant or Bhuvi? Ishant. ✘
3. Heads or Tails. Heads. ✘— Purvi (@pretty_purvi) January 13, 2018
"Ishant replaces Bhuvi for some extra bounce" ~ Kohli
Bhuvi in Last test : Best bowler for India (Took 6 wickets in the last test, 2 more than next best). Faced 127 deliveries while batting (Most by an Indian), and got out just once.
Kohli claims to pick XI on 'form'. #SAvIND
— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) January 13, 2018
https://twitter.com/SmokingSkills_/status/952090477439827971
Today's Surprise:
1. Afghanistan beat Pakistan in U19 World Cup.
2. Ajinkya Rahane not selected for the second test.
3. Bhuvi also not selected.
— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 13, 2018
Kohli captaincy is brilliant..
No rahane
No bhuvi
But want to win the match how??
Still not found….SA 400+
Ind 200 all out
Sa 200+ declare
Ind 150 all out..
Man of match — rabada 10 wicket haul..
SA 2-0 wins freedom series…— Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnn (@1d90b3a8dd8446b) January 13, 2018
Two things you have to do to get into Virat Kohli's Playing XI :
1. Tattoos
2. Selfies with captainSORRY! @BhuviOfficial you need to improve.#Bhuvi #TeamIndia #SAvIND
— Prajwal Mishra (@mishraaprajwal) January 13, 2018
