Indian Test captain Rishabh Pant has returned to the squad for the upcoming series against South Africa as the BCCI announced the 15-member squad on Wednesday, November 5. Pant suffered an injury during the tour of England and was sidelined until recently when he was back on the field for India A’s series against South Africa A.
The 28-year-old batsman impressed at the wicket during India A’s first match against South Africa A how he led from the front as captain and led the team to victory. Pant suffered the injury during the Manchester Test when he was hit on the leg by a delivery from Chris Woakes. He underwent rehabilitation at the BCCI Center Of Excellence in Bengaluru.
Pant will continue his work deputizing for Shubman Gill with Dhruv Jurel, who impressed during the West Indies series, as the team’s second-choice wicketkeeper. Axar Patel returned to the Test team as Prasidh Krishna had to make way.
Axar last played a Test match in 2024 and is expected to back up Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar in the squad. Akash Deep also returns to the Test team after missing the West Indies Test series. South Africa into the series after a 1-1 draw in Pakistan and will be back in full force with the arrival of Temba Bavuma.
The first Test of the series will be played at Eden Gardens, Kolkata from November 14 to 18, while the second match will be played in Guwahati from November 22 to 26.
This will be followed by a three-match ODI series and five T20Is.
Indian Test team for South Africa series
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 Akadavepraj, Kuld
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Published on:
November 5, 2025
