Most names in the squad are on the expected lines.
The India Test squad for the South Africa series has been announced, featuring a largely expected lineup. One big change is the return of Rishabh Pant, who missed the West Indies rubber due to a foot injury he sustained in England.
N Jagadeesan, who replaced him in the squad, unfortunately misses out, even though he did nothing wrong and didn’t get any chances. Pant is also back as the vice-captain, with Ravindra Jadeja no longer acting as Shubman Gill’s deputy.
The ever-impressive Dhruv Jurel will be the second wicketkeeper-batter in the India Test squad, but he might not get a game after Pant’s return, even though he was magnificent in the last assignment. Sai Sudharsan, who impressed in patches against the West Indies, retains his spot, while Devdutt Padikkal has been included too.
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Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, both of whom featured against the West Indies, have been included, with the former set to return after sitting out of the Australia tour. Apart from Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Washington Sundar are other obvious names in the spin department.
Akash Deep is another change from the West Indies squad, as he returns to the fold after missing the previous home series. At that time, he had just returned from an injury and was asked to play in the Irani Cup to prove his fitness.
He performed reasonably well and later played two Ranji Trophy games for Bengal, opening the doors for his Test return. His inclusion will boost India’s bowling unit significantly, given that he is skiddy and tailor-made for home conditions.
Akash already has 10 wickets at 25.80 runs apiece in eight innings, including a best of 3/63, in India. While the team has Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj in the pace department, Akash’s presence will allow them to remain flexible and choose different combinations, especially since he can also contribute a bit with the willow.
A notable absentee from the India Test squad is Karun Nair, who has been fabulous in the initial rounds of the Ranji Trophy. He was excluded from the West Indies series after a middling England tour and returned with big scores in the domestic tournament.
Karun’s scores in the Ranji Trophy read: 73, 8, 174*, & 233. However, these numbers don’t seem to be enough to impress the selectors, who continue to back young talents as they look to build on the impressive start to the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle.
Sarfaraz Khan misses out once again, with his underwhelming Ranji Trophy campaign likely contributing to his omission. The Mumbai batter has 42, 32, 1, 15, & 5* across five innings, which are not enough to warrant a spot when players like Karun are struggling to get in.
Meanwhile, the ace pacer Mohammed Shami doesn’t find a spot either despite proving his fitness in the Ranji Trophy. Playing for Bengal, Shami took 15 wickets in the first two games before going wicketless in the latest one, but he is slowly getting back to his best.
Recently, he was involved in a war of words with the chief selector Ajit Agarkar and downplayed Agarkar’s comments on his fitness. Anyway, the selectors have continued to ignore him in the longest format despite impressive bowling performances, and Shami will need more wickets to press his case again.
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (wk & vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, Kuldeep Yadav
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