Pant returns to India squad for SA Tests
Rishabh Pant returns to the Indian Test squad for the two-match series against South Africa, and has also been named the vice captain of the team for the series that begins on November 14.
The Indian senior men's selection panel, led by Ajit Agarkar, announced a 15-member squad which sees the omission of Prasidh Krishna and N Jagadeesan. Apart from Pant, Akash Deep is the other addition to the squad that featured in the recent Test series against the West Indies.
India Test squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), 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
Pant suffered a fractured toe in July, when he attempted to reverse-sweep a Chris Woakes delivery in the fourth Test against England in Manchester. The injury kept him out of action for a lengthy period and he recently returned to active cricket when he featured in the four-day game for India A against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Pant, who led India A, scored a crucial 90 in the second innings to take his team to a three-wicket victory. He will also captain the side in the second unofficial Test that begins on November 6, with KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel, Devdutt Padikkal, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj also part of the India A setup.
Jurel, who kept wickets in Pant's absence - during the England Tests as well as the series against West Indies - is the second wicketkeeper in the squad for the South Africa series. Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sudharsan and skipper Shubman Gill make the top four, with Pant likely to bat at No.5.
Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Axar Patel are the spin all-rounders while Nitish Reddy is the medium-pace all-rounder in the squad. Kuldeep Yadav is the other spin option while Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Akash are the pacers.
The opening game of the series will be held at Eden Gardens in Kolkata while the second Test will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati from November 22.
