Priyank Panchal replaces injured Rohit Sharma in India Test squad

Sharma suffered an injury to his left hamstring during a training session on Sunday, days after being named as Virat Kohli's vice-captain

Priyank Panchal has been added to India's squad ahead of the three-Test series against South Africa.

The 31-year-old replaces Rohit Sharma, who suffered an injury to his left hamstring during a training session on Sunday.

Sharma was announced as India's vice-captain in Test cricket last week, taking over in the role from Ajinkya Rahane, having also replaced Virat Kohli as white-ball captain.

Panchal made 96 against South Africa A last month in a high-scoring draw, falling four runs short of his hundred after being trapped in front by left-arm spinner George Linde. By then, he had already represented India A against representative sides from Australia, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, West Indies and England.

KL Rahul and Mayank Agarwal are likely to open the innings in any case, with Panchal in reserve.

^{Priyank Panchal in action for India A (Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)}

His chance in the Test squad comes after plenty of time spent with the national team's second string, since a breakout season in 2016/17 when he scored 1,310 runs. Between that campaign and the end of 2019, no one had scored more runs in first-class cricket in India, despite a bout of malaria that followed his breakthrough year.

He has worked with Rahul Dravid, India's new head coach, before. "When someone like Rahul Dravid tells you something, it makes a difference," he told ESPNcricinfo in 2019. "We will naturally tend to believe what he has said. It comes with the weight of experience and of having done that, been through that."

South Africa will also be without a key player, with Quinton de Kock set to miss at least the third Test, with his wife expecting the couple's first child.

India squad: Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Priyank Panchal, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jayant Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj