As the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the two-match Test series against South Africa, the fans will also witness Rishabh Pant returning to the action.
Team India and South Africa will engage in a two-match Test series, beginning from November 14. The first Test match between the teams is scheduled to be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The second game will be played from November 22 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati. Both matches will commence at 9.30 AM IST.
Pant has been appointed as Shubman Gill`s deputy. The left-hander will make his first appearance at the international level since the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy.
He was ruled out after receiving a severe blow to his foot while batting. Since then, he was out of action. He featured in the competitive cricket against South Africa `A`.
As he gears up for the South Africa challenge, here are the statistics of Pant in the longest format of the game:
So far, he has featured in 47 Test matches for India and has scored 3427 runs. His top score in the format is an unbeaten 159 runs, with eight centuries and 18 half-centuries.
The left-hander has also played three Test matches against the Proteas. In those matches, he has scored 186 runs, with his best score being an unbeaten 100 runs. It will be interesting to see if Pant delivers big performances on his return after the injury.
Currently, the Indian team is busy engaging in the five-match T20I series against Australia. The “Men in Blue” are leading the contest by 2-1, with the final game scheduled to be played on November 8.
IND vs SA Tests: Full Squads
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.
South Africa squad for India tour: Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne.