India’s Test stars left for South Africa in a chartered plane on Thursday morning from Mumbai. The Board of Control for Cricket in India took to social media to share photos of the departure. India will play 3 Tests and as many ODIs in South Africa from December 26.

Jasprit Bumrah was sporting a wide smile as he posed for the camera while the likes of Cheteshwar Pujara, Shardul Thakur and Mayank Agarwal were spotted with face masks on. Former vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane and Umesh Yadav were also spotted in the photos shared by the board.

Virat Kohli will lead the 18-man squad in South Africa during the much-anticipated 3-Test series. India will miss their newly-appointed vice-captain Rohit Sharma who was ruled out due to a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, India will also be without their two premier left-arm spinners in Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel for the Test series.

All buckled up

South Africa bound #TeamIndia #SAvIND pic.twitter.com/fCzyLzIW0s

— BCCI (@BCCI) December 16, 2021

Team India’s departure comes a day after Virat Kohli addressed the media in an explosive press conference, rubbishing rumours of a rift with Rohit Sharma. Kohli also highlighted the lack of communication between him and the BCCI in the lead up to his removal as ODI captain.

However, a BCCI source, speaking to India Today, dismissed Virat Kohli’s claims, saying he was asked in September to reconsider his decision to quit T20I captaincy. Kohli also contradicted board president Sourav Ganguly’s claim that the former skipper spoke to him in person and urged him not to give up T20I captaincy.

Kohli, who stepped down as T20I captain after the T20 World Cup in the UAE, was sacked as ODI captain on the day the Test squad for the South Africa tour was announced.

Meanwhile, Kohli conceded that Rohit Sharma’s absence will be a big blow to India but that he is confident that the team will do well in the 3-Test series in the Rainbow Nation. India have never won a Test series in South Africa so far but having had impressive results on the road in the recent past, Kohli’s men are expected to pose a stiff challenge to the hosts.

“We will miss his abilities a lot. He has proven in England already that he has really worked his Test game out and the opening partnership was very important for us. With his experience and skill, we will miss his qualities.

“But having said that, I think it’s an opportunity for someone like Mayank and KL to step up and solidify that start that we got in the last series. Make sure that the good work is carried on in this series as well,” Kohli said.