The 28-year-old stumper had missed India’s previous Test series against West Indies as he was recovering from the foot fracture he suffered during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
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Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has made his way back to the national side for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, starting November 14 at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
The 28-year-old stumper had missed India’s previous Test series against West Indies as he was recovering from the foot fracture he suffered during the fourth Test against England in Manchester in July.
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He proved his match fitness by leading India A to victory in the first four-day game against South Africa A at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru last week. Pant made 90 in the second innings as India A chased down a target of 275.
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Pant will resume his job as the deputy to Shubman Gill with Dhruv Jurel, who impressed during the West Indies series, being the second-choice wicketkeeper in the squad. There was a return for Axar Patel into the Test team as Prasidh Krishna had to make way.
Pacer Akash Deep is also returning to the Test team after missing the West Indies Test series.
Meanwhile, India’s Test captain Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar and Washington Sundar are currently playing the T20I series in Australia, and will join the Test squad after the five-match series ends on November 8.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep was released from the T20I squad after the third match in Hobart so that he could prepare for the Test series by playing India A’s second four-day game against South Africa A, starting November 6.
After the first Test in Kolkata, the two teams will then head to Guwahati, which is set to host its first-ever Test match from November 22 at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium.
India are currently third in the World Test Championship rankings with 61.90 percent points, while World Test Champions South Africa are fifth with 50 percent points, having most recently drawn a series 1-1 in Pakistan.
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
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