Shubman Gill to Captain, Rishabh Pant Returns: India Announce Test Squad for South Africa

The BCCI has announced India 15-member Test squad for the South Africa series, with Shubman Gill as captain and Rishabh Pant as vice-captain.

The BCCI has announced India 15-member Test squad for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, starting November 14. Shubman Gill will lead the side, with Rishabh Pant named vice-captain and wicketkeeper.

Notably, Mohammed Shami has been left out once again. Pacer Akash Deep returns to the lineup, while Rishabh Pant makes his much-awaited comeback after recovering from a foot injury sustained during the England tour. Pant recently proved his fitness with a 90-run knock for India A against South Africa A and will resume his role as vice-captain under Shubman Gill’s leadership. Spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been released from T20I duty in Australia to join India A’s ongoing red-ball fixture in Bengaluru.

South Africa, led by Temba Bavuma, had also announced their 15-member squad for the Tests in Kolkata and Guwahati.

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The first Test will be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 14 to 18, followed by the second match in Guwahati from November 22 to 26 – the city’s first-ever Test fixture.

India’s Test Squad

Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

Meanwhile, Tilak Varma will lead India A in a three-match one-day series against South Africa A, beginning in Rajkot.

India A’s Squad for One-Day Team:

Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK)