India tour of South Africa 2023-24: 3 Indian players who have secured a place in all 3 formats

Team India selection committee, led by Ajit Agarkar, on Thursday announced the squads for the upcoming all-format tour of South Africa. The Men in Blue will be on a month-long tour starting December 10 that will include three T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests. With Rohit Sharma and Viral Kohli set to miss the white-ball series, the Indian Cricket Board has named three different captains across formats. 

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The tour will begin with the T20I series in Durban and Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Indian side as Hardik Pandya is out of action from injury. Johannesburg will host the first ODI on December 17 and KL Rahul will captain the Men in Blue. Captain Rohit and Kohli will join the squad for the crucial red-ball series which is scheduled to take place from December 26 to January 7.

Notably, Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal have returned to the ODI setup. Sai Sudharsan, Rinku Singh, and Rajat Patidar have received their maiden ODI call. Only three players have been picked in all 3 formats and it will be a dream tour for them. 

3. Shreyas Iyer 

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Shreyas Iyer has become India's most reliable batter at No. 4 in both ODIs and Tests. He is also a valuable asset in the shortest format. The 28-year-old is the most experienced player out of the three selected for all three formats. In the recently concluded ODI World Cup, Iyer finished as India's third-leading run-getter with 530 runs at an average of 66.25 and a strike rate of 113.24. 

2. Ruturaj Gaikwad 

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Gaekwad is yet to make his Test debut and if luck goes his way, we could witness the moment in the upcoming tour of South Africa. The 26-year-old recently struck a magnificent century in the third T20I against Australia in Guwahati.The right-hander has played 17 T20Is so far and has amassed 458 runs at a strike rate of 144.47. He also has 106 runs, including a half-century, in four ODIs.

3. Mukesh Kumar 

Mukesh Kumar may be the luckiest of the three. Earlier this year, the 30-year-old became only the second Indian to make his international debut in all three formats in a single tour. He managed to continue impressing the management and earned yet another all-format selection a few days after his marriage. The right-arm pacer has so far played 11 international matches and taken 10 wickets.