Reports - KL Rahul frontrunner to lead India in Tests, Pujara, Rahane likely to be dropped

Virat Kohli stunned everyone by deciding to step down as Team India's Test captain just a day after their Test series loss to South Africa. A few months ago, Kohli had announced well in advance that he would be stepping down as Bangalore and India's T20I captain after the conclusion of ITL 2021 and 20-20 World Cup 2021 respectively. However, he was keen to continue as Test skipper thus, giving up Test captaincy suddenly has taken one and all by surprise.

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As Virat Kohli has decided to step down as India captain, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will now have to find an apt replacement before India's next Test series against Sri Lanka. As per reports, KL Rahul, limited-overs skipper Rohit Sharma, and Jasprit Bumrah are in line to be named as India's next Test skipper. However, it has also been reported that Rahul is the frontrunner for this role.

At the same time, as per reports in The Indian Express, the Indian team is also expected to go through a transition phase in the longest format. Going by the reports, two of India's senior Test batters - Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara could be dropped, owing to their underwhelming returns in the last 12 months. Should this happen, the onus would be on Hanuma Vihari and Shreyas Iyer to take care of India's middle-order responsibilities as far as Test cricket is concerned.

India's next Test assignment will be against Sri Lanka, where they will host the Islanders in a two-match Test series. The first Test will be played at M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru from February 25, while the final match will be contested at Mohali's PCA Stadium from March 5.