Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been recalled to the Rishabh Pant India Test Squad for the upcoming two-match series against South Africa, starting November 14 in Kolkata.
Pant replaces N Jagadeesan, while Akash Deep joins in place of Prasidh Krishna, who was part of the squad that defeated West Indies 2-0 in October. Pant missed that series as he recovered from a foot fracture sustained during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July. Akash Deep, recovering from a back injury, has since played two rounds of the Ranji Trophy for Bengal. Mohammed Shami, despite taking 15 wickets in the Ranji Trophy, was not selected for the squad.
Pant demonstrated his match fitness by captaining India A to victory in the first four-day game against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, scoring 90 in the second innings to guide India A in chasing a target of 275.
Several senior players, including Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar, are currently playing the T20I series in Australia and will join the Rishabh Pant India Test Squad after November 8. Kuldeep Yadav was released from the T20I squad after the third match to prepare for the Test series by playing India A’s second four-day game starting November 6.
India plays two Tests against South Africa:
- 1st Test: November 14, Kolkata
- 2nd Test: November 22, Guwahati (hosting Test cricket for the first time)
India currently sit third in the World Test Championship with 61.90% points, while South Africa are fifth with 50%, having drawn 1-1 in Pakistan recently.
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Full Rishabh Pant India Test Squad for South Africa Series
- Shubman Gill (capt)
- Rishabh Pant (vc & wk)
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
- KL Rahul
- Sai Sudharsan
- Devdutt Padikkal
- Dhruv Jurel
- Ravindra Jadeja
- Washington Sundar
- Jasprit Bumrah
- Axar Patel
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Mohammed Siraj
- Kuldeep YadavAkash Deep
India A Squad for One-Day Series vs South Africa A
India A, led by Tilak Varma with Ruturaj Gaikwad as vice-captain, will play three one-day matches in Rajkot on November 13, 16, and 19. This setup will help players stay match-ready and potentially push for inclusion in the Rishabh Pant India Test Squad in the future.
India A One-Day Squad: Tilak Varma (capt), 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)