Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returns for Test matches as India names their squad for South Africa tour of 2023-24

After the heartbreak in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup Final, India redirects its focus toward the World Test Championship and the impending T20 World Cup. While a young Indian team is facing the Australian challenge in a five-match T20I series, India has announced their squad for the South Africa tour that will commence on the 10th of December. 

The tour kicks off with a three-match T20I and ODI series before transitioning to the red-ball action where most of the young guns will be seen making a mark for themselves before the test series. The Test series following the limited overs is a part of the current WTC cycle and will see Virat and Rohit back in India's jersey.

India's limited-overs squad

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have opted for a break from the white-ball segment of the tour and KL Rahul in their absence will lead the Indian side in the 3 ODIs.

The T20I and ODI squads feature a mix of young talent and experienced players. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and the promising Ruturaj Gaikwad bring freshness, while veterans like Ravindra Jadeja provide stability.

Rinku Singh's elevation to the ODI team and Rajat Patidar's inclusion in the ODIs after healing from an Achilles injury have been other notable inclusions in the limited-overs squad. Apart from that Yuzvendra Chahal and Sanju Samson's inclusion have caught the eyebrows of many as it is a T20 World Cup  year but both of these have been included in the ODI squad. The Indian team for the limited-over series is:

India’s squad for T20Is: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (VC), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar.

India’s squad for ODIs: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (C)(wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar.

Test Squad dynamics

The return of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer to the Test squad means no room for Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara. It's a significant decision considering the experience of the latter duo in red-ball cricket. However, the top guns of India such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah will return for the test matches. However, Mohammed Shami's return to the Test side is subject to fitness, adding an element of uncertainty. The Indian test squad for the South African tour is

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohd. Shami (subject to fitness), Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Prasidh Krishna