Pant only managed a score of 17 in the first innings but then scored 90 off 113 balls in the second, which ultimately helped India A win the match by three wickets. (AP Photo)Rishabh Pant is back from the injury he sustained in England in July this year and has been included in India’s squad for their upcoming two-match Test series against South Africa. The first Test will be played from November 14 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata while the second will be played in Guwahati from November 22. Pant has replaced N Jagadeesan in the squad that hosted the West Indies last month. The other change in the squad is Akash Deep replacing Prasidh Krishna.
Pant returns as vice-captain of the team. His comeback to competitive cricket was as captain of India A in their first unnofficial Test against South Africa A, which was played from October 30 to November 2 at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The 28-year-old kept wickets throughout the match, in which South Africa A batted 139.3 overs across two innings. He only managed a score of 17 in the first innings but then scored 90 off 113 balls in the second, which ultimately helped India A win the match by three wickets.
Mohammed Shami took eight wickets in Bengal’s 141-run win over Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy. (PTI Photo)
Meanwhile, senior fast bowler Mohammed Shami remains out of the Indian Test setup. Shami had been ignored for the Test series against the West Indies as well, after which the 35-year-old had stated that he is fit to play. He went on to play a leading role in Bengal’s 141-run win over Gujarat in the Ranji Trophy with a five-wicket haul in the second innings, after which his childhood coach Mohammed Badruddin had declared that Shami is back in his old rhythm that made him one of the most feared fast bowlers in the world. Shami took a total of eight wickets in the match.
Dhruv Jurel is expected to make way for Pant once again, despite his impressive performance with the bat against the West Indies which included a maiden century in the first Test. There is little argument against Pant being slotted right back into the squad, though. He started the epic five-match series in England with two centuries in the first Test. Pant is averaging 64.44 in the five Tests he has played thus far this year.
Prasidh was in the Indian squad for the West Indies Tests but was on the bench in both matches, with India choosing to play Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in both matches. It could be a similar case for Akash Deep in the Test series against South Africa, unless India decide to rest either Bumrah or Siraj in the series. India would be wary of the challenge that South Africa pose as the reigning World Test Champions. They made light work of an undercooked West Indies last month but this is arguably be their first Test series at home against a formidable opposition since their shock 3-0 loss to New Zealand last year.
Meanwhile, Prasidh has been included in the India A squad for their three-match one-day series against South Africa A in Rajkot. Tilak Varma is set to lead that team with Ruturaj Gaikwad as his vice-captain. Ishan Kishan is also in the team, as is T20I world no 1 batter Abhishek Sharma. Ishan Kishan has also been included in the squad.
India’s 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
India A’s squad for one-day team: Tilak Varma (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad (VC), Abhishek Sharma, Riyan Parag, Ishan Kishan (WK), Ayush Badoni, Nishant Sindhu, Vipraj Nigam, Manav Suthar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Khaleel Ahmed, Prabhsimran Singh (WK)
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