Virat Kohli's fate as ODI skipper is set to be decided in the next few days as SA squad to be named this week

Virat Kohli's fortunes as Team India's ODI skipper hang pretty much in the balance as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is set to name the squad for the upcoming tour of South Africa. The 33-year-old has performed well in bilateral tournaments but has strained a bit in the ICC tournaments.

Recently, the veteran batter stepped down as the captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Team India's T20I team. Virat Kohli's run as the skipper of the T20I side didn't end on an auspicious note as the Men in Blue crashed out of the T20 World Cup 2021 before the semis. Virat Kohli also didn't lead in India's opening Test against New Zealand. However, he is set to play the Mumbai Test starting on December 3.

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For the upcoming series, the Chetan Sharma-led selection panel was set to meet after India's Kanpur Test against the Black Caps. However, the emergence of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 led to its delay. Earlier, it was learned that the BCCI was waiting for a green signal from the government for the tour.

The players, who aren't a part of the series against the Kiwis, were asked to go into quarantine in Mumbai. Now as per reports, the Indian board would name the squads irrespective of whether the tour gets underway or not.

BCCI to keep the squad 'selected and ready'

"The Indian squad will be announced in the next few days' time. We will have everything ready from our end and then wait for the government's nod. If the government tells us to abort the trip, then we would. But we need to keep the squad selected and ready," a senior BCCI official was quoted as saying in The Times of India on Wednesday, December 1.

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There's also a possibility of the three-match Test series being curtailed to two games for the COVID-19 pandemic. As of now, Johannesburg, Centurion, and Cape Town are the hosts for the red-ball matches.

"We will know in a few days' time if the series would become a two-Test affair rather than three. But there have been some back-and-forth discussions," a local commentator told on air on YouTube during India A's match against South Africa A in Bloemfontein.

The Three-match Test series between India and South Africa is set to start on December 17.