IND vs SA 2025-26: Rishabh Pant makes a long-awaited return as Akash Deep replaces injured Prasidh Krishna in India’s squad.
Team India’s next Test assignment is a two-match series at home against the defending WTC champions, South Africa, starting at the iconic Eden Gardens on November 14. The BCCI selectors have named a 15-member squad for this important series, with Shubman Gill at the helm.
The Gill-led side won the recent home series against West Indies rather comfortably, months after earning a hard-fought series draw against England away from home. India have yet to drop a series in this cycle, but the WTC champions are a force to reckon with. So, they will be wary of the threats the Temba Bavuma-led team could pose in the red-ball format.
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
From the outset, the squad selections have been on expected lines. There have been a couple of changes to the team that faced West Indies, but aside from that, most of the players in the squad are obvious selections.
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Major changes in India’s squad against South Africa
Rishabh Pant, the designated India Test vice-captain, makes a return to the side at the expense of the uncapped Narayan Jagadeesan. The wicket-keeper was ruled out of the West Indies series, owing to a toe fracture that he sustained during the fourth Test match in England.
While he may have been absent from international cricket for some time, Pant made an immediate impact upon his return to competitive cricket. In the unofficial Test match against South Africa A side, Pant made a crucial 90 in the fourth innings to propel his side to a win.
The other player to make a comeback into the side is Akash Deep. He will replace fellow fast bowler Prasidh Krishna. The former had to undergo rehab for a back injury that he sustained after the England tour. Since then, he has featured in three first-class games, one for Rest of India in the Irani Trophy and a couple of games for Bengal in the Ranji Trophy. In these three matches, Akash has picked a total of seven wickets.
Both these players had a great tour of England. While Pant made 479 runs in just seven innings with five fifty-plus scores, Akash picked a ten-wicket haul in the victorious Edgbaston Test. The home side would dearly want them to replicate the same in this upcoming home series.
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Possible impact of team changes
The two changes make India a strong entity in both departments of the game – batting and bowling. While Akash Deep will join two other pace spearheads, Pant’s presence makes their batting order longer and stronger.
In the series against West Indies, where India missed the services of Pant, they had to play with one specialist batter less. An all-rounder like Nitish Reddy was slotted to bat at No.6 instead of a pure batter. Against West Indies, it may have worked, but playing against a team like South Africa, that have potent spinners, India will need to bat longer.
Keeping this in mind, the return of Rishabh Pant will give much-needed balance to India’s batting line-up. With the current squad, India could play Dhruv Jurel, who scored a Test century not long ago as a batter, and Pant can take the gloves in hand. They will then have the luxury of playing three spinners, with two among them being proper all-rounders, and two pacers.
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