The BCCI has announced India’s Test squad for the upcoming series in South Africa. The squad includes the return of experienced players like Mohammed Shami and KL Rahul, both of whom were not part of the squad for the West Indies series due to injury and rest, respectively. Shami’s inclusion in the squad is subject to fitness, as he is currently undergoing medical treatment. Another notable inclusion in the squad is Shreyas Iyer, who returns to Test cricket after a long injury layoff.
Fast bowlers Jaydev Unadkat and Navdeep Saini have been left out of the squad, while Mukesh Kumar, who made his debut in the West Indies series, retains his place. The squad also features Jasprit Bumrah, who is set to make a Test comeback after more than 17 months. Bumrah has been gradually building up his workload across white-ball formats and is likely to feature in a four-day game for India A in South Africa ahead of the Test series.
The squad also sees Rahul included as a wicketkeeping option, with no place for KS Bharat, who was one of the keepers in the West Indies series. Shubman Gill is expected to continue batting at No. 3, with Yashasvi Jaiswal likely to open alongside Rohit Sharma.
India are scheduled to play two Tests in South Africa, with the series being part of the World Test Championship cycle. This will be India’s second series in the 2023-2025 cycle, after the series in the West Indies, which India won 2-1. After the series in South Africa, India will host England for five Tests, also part of the WTC cycle. The last time India played a Test series in South Africa was during the Covid-19 pandemic in December and January 2021-2022, with South Africa winning the series 2-1.
India’s Test squad for South Africa: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vice-capt), Prasidh Krishna.
