Rishabh Pant has made his long-awaited return to India’s Test squad for the two-match home series against South Africa, starting November 14 in Kolkata.
The wicketkeeper-batter replaces N Jagadeesan after proving his fitness with a match-winning 90 for India A against South Africa A last week. Fast bowler Akash Deep also comes back into the squad, taking Prasidh Krishna’s spot after recovering from a back injury.
Pant missed India’s previous Test series against West Indies due to a foot fracture sustained in July but now looks fully fit. India will also feature Test regulars Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, who will join after the T20I series in Australia.
The two Tests will be played in Kolkata and Guwahati — the latter set to host its first-ever Test. India currently sit third on the World Test Championship table, while South Africa are fifth.
India’s Test squad for South Africa series:
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, Akash Deep
