Rohit Sharma has been appointed as the new Test captain of the Indian team on Saturday.

Sharma's appointment comes after Virat Kohli's decision to step down from the position following India's Test series loss to South Africa in January.

The selectors initiated the transition phase by dropping struggling veterans Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara, Wriddhiman Saha and Ishant Sharma for the Sri Lanka series.

On Saturday, chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma made it clear that "Rohit was the unanimous choice" and will be the bridge between the new and old in the current set-up as they groom three potential captaincy materials in KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.

All three have led or been deputy at some point.