SAvIND, 2nd Test | 'Thankless captain': Twitter slams Virat Kohli for dropping Bhuvneshwar Kumar

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis won the toss and elected to bat in the second Test against India in Pretoria on Saturday.

India have included opener KL Rahul, wicketkeeper-batsman Parthiv Patel and seamer Ishant Sharma in the place of Shikhar Dhawan, Wriddhiman Saha and Bhuvneshwar Kumar respectively. Saha has a hamstring problem and has not been risked.

 

Twitter was not at all pleased with the team selection by the visitors. Bhuvi was the standout bowler for India in the first Test and fans couldn't understand why he was left out of the playing XI.

Here are some reactions

Staggered by the exclusion of Bhuvaneswar. Staggered.

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 13, 2018

One player gave you a chance in Capetown. And he won't be bowling at South Africa. #BhuvaneswarKumar

— Harsha Bhogle (@bhogleharsha) January 13, 2018

@BhuviOfficial left out..you are kidding me??

— Allan Donald (@AllanDonald33) January 13, 2018

Ishant Sharma in for Bhuvi.
Rohit Sharma again gets the chance over Rahane.

I think Anushka Sharma selecting the playing XI on this tour.#INDvSA

— Sunil- The Cricketer (@1sInto2s) January 13, 2018

"Ishant replaces Bhuvi for some extra bounce" ~ Kohli

Bhuvi in Last test : Best bowler for India (Took 6 wickets in the last test, 2 more than next best). Faced 127 deliveries while batting (Most by an Indian), and got out just once.

Kohli claims to pick XI on 'form'. #SAvIND

— Aditya (@forwardshortleg) January 13, 2018

#Bhuvi bats better than u when the ball swings da #Kohli

— AKSHAY (@akshay14793) January 13, 2018

Why is Smith called brain-fade when kohli proves he is a brainfaden with his selections. We were in the game due to bhuvi. Ask duplessis will he drop philander. He is slow too.. #SAvIND

— DEV (@Cover_driver) January 13, 2018

"Perception isn't the truth but it's bigger than truth these days" And may be that's why Bhuvi isn't a part of playing 11. #IndvSAonSonyTen3

— R P Singh (@RpSingh99) January 13, 2018

Thread for Test 2, day one: A very puzzled thread, that is. Saha gets a convenient niggle. Bhuvi, who got you in the game at Newlands, is out. KL for Dhawan is the only call that makes sense. And? Rahane remains out. Oh well. Pig-headedness is *not* a virtue.

— Prem Panicker (@prempanicker) January 13, 2018

Bhuvi’s form comes with ‘conditions apply’. Since the pitch is expected to offer more bounce than lateral movement...therefore, Ishant plays. #SAvsIND

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) January 13, 2018

When you drop your best bowler for Ishant Sharma's extra bounce. #Bhuvi #SAvsIND pic.twitter.com/29RZB3lxie

— Dileep Krishna (@benigntumour) January 13, 2018

Can't believe Bhuvi has been dropped. Horses for courses approach of going with Ishant? But dropping the bowler who opened out the game for you in the 1st test & also looked rock solid with the bat in the lower order? Sathyama Kohli ah purinjikave mudila. #IndvsSA

— Srini Mama  (@SriniMama16) January 13, 2018

#Bhuvi should immigrate. Might as well play for that Abottabad something as 2nd change bowlers than for this thankless captain. 

— Harsha (@Hramblings) January 13, 2018

Today's Surprise:

1. Afghanistan beat Pakistan in U19 World Cup.

2. Ajinkya Rahane not selected for the second test.

3. Bhuvi also not selected.

— Broken Cricket (@BrokenCricket) January 13, 2018

I think Bhuvi bowled and batted better than expectations. He had to be taught a lesson https://t.co/1riplu9hXJ

— Hemant (@hemantbuch) January 13, 2018

Virat replaced Dhawan with KL Rahul : Wow now India will score 30-40 runs more this time.

Virat replaced Bhuvi with Ishant : Shit now India will need to score 100-200 runs more this time. #INDvsSA

— Smoking Skills (@SmokingSkills_) January 13, 2018

What the fuck is wrong with Kohli? Dropping Rahane first, now Bhuvi. Hope we are beaten by an innings here. Team management needs a lesson. And yeah fuck Rohit Sharma too.

— Aniruddha Bhondwe (@Ani_b95) January 13, 2018

Unconfirmed reports that Bhuvi failed to lift 470 kg in gym last night. Captain Fitness & team management couldn't take the risk in case of a rhino attack on the field. Sensible.

— Aayush (@slicesofIife) January 13, 2018

Bhuvi rattled the South African top order in the last game, yet Ishant sharma was preferred instead of him for the second test.
You know why?

Because 'Regionalism' beats performance.#क्षेत्रवाद #SAvsIND

— Tushar Varanasi (@Tusharsindia) January 13, 2018

Bhuvi not in the team?!!! My office is open for explanations.

— Gaurav Kapur (@gauravkapur) January 13, 2018

First Flat track, white ball bully over Rahane, now pedestrian Ishant over the best bowler of all formats in India right now, Bhuvi.
That's what happen when ego & arrogance took over a person#SAvIND

— Sayan Basu (@SayanBasuTweets) January 13, 2018

India dropping Bhuvi makes about as much sense as Trump's foreign policies. #SAvIND

— Dennis Markram (@DennisCricket_) January 13, 2018

Without Bhuvi, you don't just lose the bowler, you lose a batsman also. Good luck, India! Hope this surprise/gamble or whatever you want to call it pays off. #SAvIND

— Aishwaryaa H (@ImAishu_) January 13, 2018

Form> Conditions when it comes to Rohit. Conditions>Form when it comes to Bhuvi. Hmmmm...

— Thivi (@DArmChairCritic) January 13, 2018

I really hope Bhuvi is staying strong mentally. Because being dropped after an excellent performance often breaks a player. #SAvIND

— Key-err-tea (@Keerti_RL) January 13, 2018

Bhuvi is like that kid in a family who gets the punishment and doesn't know what was his mistake..

— Writer Thakur (@IndianWriterV) January 13, 2018

South Africa won the first match of the three-Test series at Newlands by 72 runs, having also elected to bat first, and Du Plessis is expecting the wicket to deteriorate on days four and five. "With the history of this ground, it is a little slow on day one and then speeds. Later in the Test match, there are cracks," Du Plessis said at the toss. "The stats are very in favour of batting first."

 

South Africa have handed a first Test cap to tall fast bowler Lungi Ngidi in the place of the injured Dale Steyn. "He is a promising youngster, so with some pace and bounce we are looking forward to seeing what he can do," Du Plessis said.

India captain Virat Kohli says batting first was a "no brainer" and was disappointed to have lost his second toss of the series. "We would have batted on this pitch too, it looks really dry and completely different from what we thought it would be two days back. We thought it would be similar to Cape Town, but a lot of the grass is off," Kohli said.

 

Teams

South Africa: Dean Elgar, Aiden Markram, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Faf du Plessis (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Vernon Philander, Kagiso Rabada, Keshav Maharaj, Morne Morkel, Lungi Ngidi.

India: Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Parthiv Patel(wicketkeeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami.

(Inputs from Reuters)