South Africa begins its Test series in India with the first match starting on Friday, November 14, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ahead of the game, team news has revealed that Axar Patel may miss the first Test, while Dhruv Jurel is expected to feature alongside Rishabh Pant, with the assistant coach confirming both could play together.
Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the first Test, not due to injury, but as part of team management decisions.
BCCI confirmed that Reddy will join India A team for the ODI series against South Africa A in Rajkot and will rejoin the main squad for the second Test after the A series concludes.
Rishabh Pant, returning from injury sustained during the England tour, is fully fit and likely to take up wicketkeeping duties if both he and Dhruv Jurel are in the playing XI.
Probable India XI for Kolkata Test
Batsmen: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill (captain)
Wicketkeeper: Rishabh Pant
All-rounders / Batsmen: Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav
Fast Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj
The team may adopt a spin-heavy combination with three spinners (Jadeja, Sundar, Kuldeep) and two pacers (Bumrah, Siraj) in Kolkata.
Broadcast Information
The first Test between India and South Africa will be live on Star Sports, with streaming available on the JioHotstar app and website.
Squads
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Axar Patel, Devdutt Padikkal, Akash Deep.
South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Temba Bavuma(c), Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Kyle Verreynne(w), Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Corbin Bosch, Senuran Muthusamy, Zubayr Hamza, Wiaan Mulder.
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