India have named their Test, T20I and ODI squads for the tour to South Africa that begins on December 10.
Ajinkya Rahane, vice-captain for India’s most recent Test tour in the West Indies, is the headline omission from the red-ball squad. He made three and eight in two innings after making a half-century on recall in the World Test Championship final. Cheteshwar Pujara continues to miss out, while India are buoyed by the return of Jasprit Bumrah after he proved his fitness in the recent World Cup. He will vice-captain the side.
KL Rahul has also returned after an injury lay-off, but, after Yashasvi Jaiswal made a century on debut in the Caribbean, he is unlikely to reprise his opening role. Rahul is also listed as a wicketkeeper, making a middle-order berth likely. Mohammed Shami has been selected in the Test squad, but his availability is subject to fitness.
India’s Test squad to face South Africa: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Prasidh Krishna.
Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will appear in the Test series only, having asked for rest from the white-ball leg of the tour. KL Rahul will captain in ODIs, while Suryakumar Yadav will lead in the shortest format, as he has done in the ongoing series against Australia. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has won a recall in ODIs, while Suryakumar has been left out after a disappointing World Cup. Of those in the World Cup squad, only Shreyas Iyer, Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav have been retained.
India’s ODI squad to face South Africa: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c, wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.
India’s T20I squad to face South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.
