Here's why Virat Kohli was ruled out of 3rd South Africa vs India T20 in Cape Town

Cape Town: He was just 17 runs away from becoming India’s first and the third overall, to score 2000 runs in Twenty20 internationals but Virat Kohli will have to wait for another day after he was ruled out of the third and final game of the three-match series against South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town on Saturday.

The Indian skipper, who led the team from the front in the Rainbow Nation and was the highest run-getter in the three-match Test series (286 runs) and six-match ODI series (558 runs), was sidelined from the final game of India’s 12-match tour to South Africa.

Rohit Sharma, who is leading the team in Kohli’s absence, said that Kohli was ruled out of the game due to stiff back.

“Virat has a stiff back and he needs some rest. It has been a long season for him and unfortunately he misses out but gives someone else a chance to step up,” said Rohit at the toss.

While Kohli had scored only 27 runs in the first two Twenty20s, knowing the impact he can make in the crunch games, India, who are looking to make it 8-4 in the tour will have a tough task at hand in the absence of the their premier batsman and skipper.

Meanwhile, Dinesh Karthik, who is with the team since the third Test on the tour, is replacing Kohli in the playing XI as India aim to end the South Africa tour with two series wins and two trophies.