India's Test team captain Rishabh Pant has made his return to the squad for the upcoming series against South Africa as BCCI announced the 15-member side on Wednesday, November 5. Pant suffered an injury during the England tour and was out of action until recently when he was back on the field for the India A vs South Africa A series.
The 28-year-old wicketkeeper-batter impressed during the first India A vs South Africa A match as he led from the front as the captain and guided the team to a win. Pant suffered the injury during the Manchester Test when he was hit on the foot by a delivery by Chris Woakes. He underwent his rehab at the BCCI Centre Of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Pant will resume his job as the deputy to Shubman Gill with Dhruv Jurel, who impressed during the West Indies series, being the second-choice wicketkeeper in the squad. There was a return for Axar Patel into the Test team as Prasidh Krishna had to make way.
Axar last played a Test match in 2024 and will be expected to be a back for Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the squad. Akash Deep is also returning to the Test team after missing the West Indies Test series. South Africa into the series after a 1-1 draw in Pakistan and they will return to full strength with the arrival of Temba Bavuma.
The first Test of the series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 14 to 18, with the second match taking place in Guwahati from November 22 to 26.
This will be followed by a three-match ODI series and five T20Is.
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
Source: India Today