India names 15-man squad for 3 test matches against South Africa; Gill included, KL Rahul, excluded

Hyderabad: Team India on Thursday announced a 15-man squad for the Test series against South Africa. The home series is set to begin on 2nd October at Visakhapatnam.

The team led by Virat Kohli includes Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Chesteshwar Pujara, Rishab Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah.

KL Rahul has been left out following his poor form in tests, whereas debutant Shubman Gill has been included in the squad following his excellent performance against Westindies 'A' back in the Caribbean. With KL Rahul being excluded, Rohit Sharma is being considered as the top contender for the opening slot.

Shubman Gill can also be considered for the opening slot as he performed well at the top order. He was the first Indian batsman to score a double hundred for India 'A' side in unofficial tests.

No other changes have been made, with India moving ahead with a consistent squad against the Proteas with the World Test Championship underway.

The three-match series is set to begin on 2nd October wherein India would try to get more points in the World Test Championship. India is currently at the top of the World Test Championship points table with 120 scores from the two tests that they won against the Windies in the Caribbean.

With this series, India will try to make a substantial lead on the points table.

This series will also mark the beginning of Proteas's World Test Championship journey against the world no.1 test team, India.

Meanwhile, the first T20 against the Proteas is to be played on Sunday at Dharamshala.