A heartbroken KL Rahul has posted an emotional post on social media after a groin injury ruled him out of the home T20I series against South Africa. KL Rahul who was to lead the Indian cricket team in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma was “gutted” at not being able to take part in the five games against the Proteas. Rishabh Pant has been named as the skipper of the Indian cricket team in KL Rahul's absence while Hardik Pandya has been named as the vice-captain.

“Hard to accept but I begin another challenge today. Gutted not to be leading the side for the first time at home, but the boys have all my support from the sidelines. Heartfelt thanks to all for your support. Wishing Rishabh and the boys all the luck for the series. See you soon,” KL Rahul wrote on Twitter.

Earlier on Wednesday, the fans of the Indian cricket team came in for a rude shock after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced that KL Rahul and spinner Kuldeep Yadav won't be a part of the series against South Africa, having sustained injuries to their groin and right hand respectively.

“Team India Captain KL Rahul has been ruled out of the T20I series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury while Kuldeep Yadav will miss out in the T20I series after getting hit on his right hand while batting in the nets last evening,” the Indian cricket board said in a statement.

“The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named wicket-keeper Rishabh Pant as Captain and Hardik Pandya as vice-captain for the home series against South Africa,” the BCCI statement added.

Meanwhile, Rishabh Pant who has replaced KL Rahul as captain for the series against the Temba Bavuma-led side was elated on being promoted to lead the Indian cricket team. But the Haridwar-born batter said that he was still trying to “digest” the news.

“I haven't been able to digest it yet,” a happy Pant said in the pre-match press conference on Wednesday.

“It is a very good feeling; it did not come under very good circumstances, but at the same time I am feeling happy. I would like to thank the BCCI for giving me this opportunity to lead the Indian side. I will try to make the most out of it. Thank you to all my well-wishers for supporting me in my journey through the thick and thin of my cricketing career. I will look to make it a base and keep improving and keep making my life better and better each and every day,” he added.

But it won't be the first time when Rishabh Pant would be captaining a side.

Before Wednesday's announcement, the southpaw captained the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise, the Delhi Capitals for the last two seasons. He was earlier the skipper of the Delhi Ranji team as well and Pant believes both those experiences will help him when he will lead the national team in the series against the South Africans.

“I think as a captain, it will help me a lot (leading in the IPL) because when you are doing the same thing again and again, you improve. I am someone who keeps learning from his mistakes and I think it will help me in the coming days,” he stressed.

The Indians currently top the charts in the ICC rankings for T20Is and are on the cusp of breaking a huge world record in the first game at Delhi's Arun Jaitley Stadium on Thursday.

The Indian cricket team led by Rishabh Pant would be looking for their 13th consecutive win in the shortest format of the game. They currently share the record of 12 wins on the trot with Afghanistan.

The other major talking point leading up to the game in Delhi has been Kashmir-born fast bowler Umran Malik who has been billed as an exciting prospect for India.

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Umran Malik played for SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the IPL, impressing one and all with his raw pace.

Former Australia great Brett Lee even compared him to Pakistan legend Waqar Younis and backed him to have a long career with Team India.

However, whether he will make his debut in Delhi remains to be seen as coach Rahul Dravid has hinted at fielding another newbie Arshdeep Singh due to a wide variety of balls in his arsenal.

The 23-year-old Sikh has a deceptive slower ball in addition to a lethal yorker, which makes him a natural pick in the T20 game.

India's T20I squad: Rishabh Pant (Captain and wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik