Follow UsRishabh Pant is back, as the wicketkeeper has been named in India’s 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa, on November 5 (Wednesday). The left-handed batter only returned to action in the first Unofficial Test against South Africa A, where he scored 90 in the second innings.
It was enough for the selectors to give the wicketkeeper a recall in the Test squad, with Dhruv Jurel now acting as the back-up. In the bowling department, too, Akash Deep has made a comeback to the setup after missing the West Indies series with an injury.
Narayan Jagadeesan, who was brought in as a backup wicketkeeper, has now been left out of the 15-member squad. Barring those changes, there aren’t too many surprises in the setup, with the usual suspects taking up their place in the squad.
The first Test between the two sides will begin on November 14 (Friday) at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
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
The BCCI also named a strong 50-over squad for the three-match series against South Africa A, with Tilak Varma being named as the captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad, too, has been named in the squad, as the vice-captain, but there’s no place for RCB skipper Rajat Patidar.
It is a perfect opportunity for the likes of Abhishek Sharma, Arshdeep Singh and Riyan Parag to seize their chance to make it to India’s 50-over setup.
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)