India names 15-member squad for South Africa Test series, Pant and Akash Deep return

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced a 15-member squad for the upcoming two-match home Test series against South Africa, set to begin on November 14 in Kolkata.

The squad features the much-anticipated return of vice-captain Rishabh Pant, who has been sidelined since sustaining a foot injury during the fourth Test of India’s five-match away series against England in July.

The wicketkeeper-batter missed India’s home Test series against the West Indies last month while recovering from the injury.

Pant’s comeback follows an impressive showing in domestic cricket, where he captained India A to victory against South Africa A in a four-day match at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.

The 28-year-old underlined his form and fitness with a crucial 90-run knock in the second innings as India A chased down a target of 275.

Right-arm pacer Akash Deep has also been recalled to the Test squad after recovering from a back injury.

The first Test between India and South Africa will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, while the second Test is scheduled to take place in Chennai later this month. The series forms part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship cycle.

The two Tests against South Africa will take place from November 14 in Kolkata and from November 22 in Guwahati, which will host Test cricket for the first time.

India currently sits third in the World Test Championship table with 61.90% of the points, while South Africa is fifth with 50% of the points, having most recently drawn a series 1-1 in Pakistan.

India's Test squad:

 Shubman Gill (c), 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 Yadav and Akash Deep.