India has declared their Test team for the home series against South Africa that consists of two matches and will start on November 14 at Eden Gardens Kolkata with the second Test taking place in Guwahati on November 22. The selection of this squad indicates that India is trying to strengthen their player pool and experimenting with new combinations for the Test format by using young guns.
Shubman Gill will continue as captain of the Test side.
The 15 member squad includes
Shubman Gill (c), Rishabh Pant (vc & wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav and Akash Deep.
The Indian selectors have once again made a decision of not picking Mohammed Shami which indicates that they are taking care of Shami’s workload and trying out new fast bowlers. Akash Deep was given a chance again which indicates that the Indian team is not afraid to give young bowlers more exposure in Test matches. With this team, India are also eyeing the WTC points momentum as they are the third team at the moment. South Africa are also coming strong and they are fourth which makes this series very competitive.
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Rishabh Pant Comeback
Rishabh Pant’s comeback is the most discussed topic. After showing his fitness for the match with his innings of 90 in the India A game against South Africa A, Pant is now back in the red ball cricket circle. His presence will enhance the quality of the keeping and the middle order batting in the team.
To sum up, the series will be very captivating to witness Gill’s Test captaincy, the youngsters such as Padikkal, Sudharsan and Jaiswal coping with the pressure and the new India’s combinations testing the strength of South Africa.
Test Schedule
| Match | Date | Venue |
| 1st Test | 14 Nov 2025 – 18 Nov 2025 | Eden Gardens, Kolkata |
| 2nd Test | 22 Nov 2025 – 26 Nov 2025 | Barsapara Cricket Stadium (Gu-wahati), Guwahati |
Written By:- Manjunath S