Rabada and Gill out of second Test in Guwahati

South Africa have ruled Kagiso Rabada out of the second Test against India in Guwahati.

The pace spearhead had missed the opening Test match in Kolkata after sustaining a rib-bone stress injury in the buildup.

The injury has been closely monitored by the Proteas medical team and due to ongoing discomfort in the affected area, Rabada has been withdrawn from the remainder of the tour.

The visitors, leading 1-0 in the two-match series, had earlier confirmed Lungi Ngidi's inclusion in the squad to bolster their pace battery.

Making crucial gains in the WTC standings, the defending champions had notched their first-ever Test win in India since 2010 to gain advantage in Kolkata.

Missing out on a couple of big names in their pace battery, Simon Harmer and Marco Jansen had stepped up for the Proteas with the ball. The duo notched a total of 13 wickets between each other in a memorable 30-run win.

Having drawn their Test series in Pakistan, the ICC World Test Championship mace holders currently sit second in the nine-team standings, just below Australia - the opposition they faced in this year's WTC Final at Lord's.

Meanwhile, India have injury woes of their own as Test captain Shubman Gill is confirmed to miss the match, which starts on Saturday.

The BCCI have confirmed that he is unfit after sustaining a neck injury on Day 2 of the first Test in Kolkata.

He was kept under observation before being discharged the following day and travelled to Guwahati on 19 November.

However, Gill has not regained full fitness for the second Test and will proceed to Mumbai for further assessment.

In the 26-year-old's absence, Rishabh Pant will lead the side in Guwahati.

Gill was forced off the field after attempting a slog sweep off Harmer during India's first innings and was eventually ruled out of the game.

He was unable to take the field during India's chase of 124 and was called absent hurt in their 30-run defeat that handed the Proteas a 1-0 advantage in the two-Test series.

Gill, who was named India's skipper in the longest format of the game earlier this year, has been in splendid form with the bat since, having registered four hundreds and a double hundred in his eight Tests so far at the helm.

India currently sit fourth in the ICC World Test Championship standings, with a 54.17 PCT.

India will be captained by Rishabh Pant for the deciding Test of the series.

Currently 1-0 up, if South Africa end up winning the series 2-0, they will secure the second position in the World Test Championship points table just behind Australia. On the other hand, India will move to the third place if they manage to win the deciding Test and draw the series 1-1.

With the hosts failing to chase down low targets and an unsettled XI marred by injuries and inexperience, stand-in skipper Pant will have his task cut out to level the series, which will prove pivotal in India’s ICC World Test Championship 2027 campaign.

ICC Hall of Famer Ricky Ponting, who has worked closely with Pant in the Indian Premier League (IPL), feels the keeper-batter’s experience will come into play in his role as a skipper.

“It's never easy to come in and fill in for someone as a stopgap captain, especially when you've just lost a Test match a few days before,” Ponting said.

“Rishabh is a reasonably experienced Test match player now though as well. I think being a wicketkeeper probably helps to see the way that the game is evolving and what's happening in the game.

“He has done at IPL level now for the last few years, obviously done it in Delhi (Capitals) before that. I think he'll handle it fine.”

Pant and Ponting shared a captain-coach relationship in the Delhi Capitals franchise before the former moved on to Lucknow Super Giants and the latter to Punjab Kings.

Though Pant has abundant experience of leading teams in white-ball cricket, this will be the first time the 28-year-old will be donning the captain’s hat for the Test side.

“It will be interesting to see how he plays as captain if he changes his style of play as captain, as a batter anyway,” Ponting observed.

“I think he'll handle the occasion fine. I think the one thing that's probably not spoken about enough with these so-called younger Indian players now is that when they take the step up to playing for India in a Test match or even leading their team, because they get that great experience from the IPL.

“The IPL is probably almost as big as a Test match for a lot of these guys because of the crowds and the scrutiny that comes in an IPL game.

“I think the modern players are a bit more ready for that and a bit for those leadership roles and the enormity of the situation than they might have been 15 years ago. So I think Rishabh will handle it fine.”

Apart from missing out on Gill’s captaincy, India will also be without their premium batter, who was the highest run-getter in the recent England Test series.

The second Test begins on Saturday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Fixtures and Results

14-18 November - Eden Gardens, Kolkata - SA won by 30 runs

22-26 November - ACA Stadium, Guwahati