Rishabh Pant named Indian Test Captain for South Africa series

Indian batter Rishabh Pant, making his much-awaited return to the longest format of international cricket after being ruled out since the England tour, has been named as the skipper of India A for the two-match series against South Africa A. 

The seasoned wicket-keeper batter was ruled out of the game once again after having suffered a fracture on his right foot following an incident where a ball from Chris Woakes hit Pant on the full after the Indian batter attempted a reverse sweep against the English seamer. 

Pant continued batting despite the struggles since India needed him to thrive through an inning where the batter fell apart. He returned after India lost 7 wickets and impressed all with his grit and determination, also scoring a half-century in the game. He was then announced to be sent back to India and missed the series decider in England. 

Owing to his injury, Pant missed the Asia Cup 2025, the West Indies home Tests as well as the entire length of the white-ball tour to Australia. Dhruv Jurel replaced Pant across all formats of the game. 

Rishabh Pant named Captain of Indian Side

The Senior Men's Selection Committee has picked India A's Squad for the upcoming two-match, four-day series against South Africa A. The matches are scheduled to be played from the 30th of October and will be played till the 9th of November at the BCCI Centre of Excellence. 

Rishabh Pant, who was seen batting in the nets at the BCCI Centre of Excellence a few weeks back, is finally all set to make his return to the Indian national side. He has been awarded some gametime ahead with the India A team hosting South Africa A. 

The series has been scheduled at a time when the Proteas will be busy playing the white-ball games in Pakistan and the Indians will be busy with T20I obligations in Australia. 

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Sai Sudharsan named vice-captain; Dhruv Jurel and KL Rahul to be back for 2nd Test

The second unofficial Test begins on the 6th of November and several Indian players who are not part of the T20I setup will return to India after the ODI series concludes in Australia on the 25th of November. 

KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel, both part of India's ODI Squad in Australia, have been named to feature in the Second unofficial Test between India A and South Africa A. Sai Sudharsan, the 23-year-old youngster, has been named the vice-captain of the side. 

Ayush Mhatre has been promoted to the India A team after his inevitable success with the India Youth U19 team. Rajat Patidar has been recalled following his Ranji Trophy heroics, while the likes of Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh still await their chance despite daddy hundreds. 

Mohammed Shami has also been snubbed for another time, while Mohammed Siraj and Akash Deep are named in the second match's squad.  

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