Sarfaraz Khan misses out again, Rishabh Pant recovers to be named captain of India A vs South Africa A - complete squads

Rishabh Pant has been named as the captain of the India A squad that will play two four-day matches against South Africa A. India's wicketkeeper-batter had been recovering since picking up a toe injury during the tour of England. As a result he missed the home Tests against the West Indies and the ongoing limited overs assignment in Australia.

Earlier Pant was named in the Delhi Ranji Trophy squad to face Himachal Pradesh, which is scheduled to take place on October 25 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium. But now with the first unofficial Test against South Africa on October 30, he may miss the domestic fixture.


Pant sustained an injury on the England tour when a yorker from Chris Woakes struck his toe on the opening day of the Manchester Test. The injury forced him to miss the final match of the five-Test series, which ended in a 2-2 draw between India and England.

Since then, Pant has been under careful medical supervision, adhering to a structured fitness and rehabilitation program. A clearance from the BCCI medical team marks a key milestone in his return to elite cricket.

KL Rahul, Mohammed Siraj and Dhruv Jurel will join the squad after the conclusion of three match ODI series against Australia in the second match. N Jagadeesan is the second wicketkeeper choice in the squad, while Rajat Patidar as also been added in the squad after his double century in first match of ongoing Ranji Trophy against Punjab.

While Ruturaj Gaikwad, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, and Akash Deep will also join the squad in the second match.

India's batting line-up includes Ayush Mhatre, Devdutt Padikkal, and Ayush Badoni. The squad also included three all rounders Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, and Manav Suthar. Anshul Kamboj, and Yash Thakur will lead the pace attack in the first match while Saransh Jain will lead the spin department.

India A will play two four-day matches against the South Africa A from 30 October and 6 November, respectively, at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru.

India A squad for the 1st four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain

India A squad for the 2nd four-day match: Rishabh Pant (C) (WK), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Sai Sudharsan (VC), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep

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