India Squad For South Africa Test Series

India will be traveling to South Africa for a full-fledged series in December 2023. The men in Blue will play three T20Is, three Test and a two-match Test series. The first Test will be played in Centurion which will be the Boxing Day Test from December 26-30. Cape Town will host the second Test from January 3-7.

India are fresh off their ICC World Cup 2023 final loss against India. The team will be playing against South Africa in a tough series after the heartbreak. Before the South Africa series, the Men in Blue faced the Australians at home in a five-match T20I series from November 23 before they play the South Africans.

The Test series against South Africa will be India’s first assignment in the WTC 2023-25 edition. The Men in Blue were the finalists of the WTC 2023 as well when they lost out to Australia. Australia got the better of them in the World Cup final as well.

The last time India traveled to South Africa, they lost the Test series 2-1 and were whitewashed in the ODI series. They will be up for revenge this time around, especially after a heartbreaking loss in the World Cup final.

India had a different captain the last time when India toured South Africa for a Test series. Virat Kohli stepped down after the first Test win as KL Rahul led in the final two Test matches that India lost. Rohit Sharma is now the skipper across formats and will take on the South Africans as he takes on another big challenge after the World Cup final loss.

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The senior players in the Indian team are expected to be back for the Test series even if they decide to skip the ODI and T20I series. This format will need the senior players to stand up and fight for their team once again as they eye unfinished business with ICC titles.

India Squad For South Africa Test Series

Openers: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill

The pair of Gil and Rohit should continue to open in the red-ball format. The dup stitched together some crucial partnerships in the previous WTC edition and should continue from where they ended. They have batted enough together now and understand each other’s game plans.

Middle-Order: Virat Kohli, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane / KL Rahul

Kohli will once again be the key figure in the middle-order. Cheteshwar Pujara also should be back in the Indian Test line-up. Ajinkya Rahane last played Test cricket for India in the WTC final where he top-scored in the game. In case, he is not selected. India should persist with KL Rahul in the middle-order as he has been so successful in the white-ball format.

Wicketkeepers: KS Bharat, Ishan Kishan

Bharat and Kishan were both part of the WTC 2023 edition for India. With the continued absence of Rishabh Pant, as he continues to recover from injury, Bharat and Ishan Kishan are the two options in the wicketkeeping role for India. It will be interesting to see who gets the nod in the playing XI.

All-Rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel

Jadeja and Axar Patel should be the two all-round options for India. Both are useful left-arm spinners and more than capable with the bat. While Jadeja played a key role in India’s road to the World Cup finals, Patel was not a part of the squad. He should be back in the Test squad.

Pacers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar

The pace trio of Shami, Bumrah, and Siraj should be back for the Test series. They bowled well in tandem throughout the World Cup and became a lethal weapon for Team India. Mukesh Kumar who was part of the West Indies Test series and the WTC Final squad might get a call for the series against South Africa.

Spinners-Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav

Ashwin will be back in the Test side as the lead spinner along with Kuldeep Yadav who has shown giant strides across formats in the last two years. Both were a part of the World Cup squad where Kuldeep was the specialist spinner and Ashwin happy to help him from the sidelines.

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