The red ball season in India will become extra special when South Africa faces the transitional Indian team for a two-match Test series starting from November 14th. The pitch of Eden Garden is set for the big stage as the international game comes back at the iconic venue after 11 months. The iconic venue will host a test match after a six-year gap; when India last played a test match in Eden, it was in 2019 against Bangladesh. ICC World Test Champions South Africa will play the first Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The second Test will take place at ACA Stadium in Guwahati.
Sourav Ganguly, the president of the CAB and former captain of the Indian cricket team, shares his thoughts on the upcoming series and expresses his belief that the Indian team is the favourite to win. He highlighted the strength of the Indian spin attack and praised the recent impressive performances of the young squad.
Ganguly spoke about the series at an event and said, "India are favourites because their spin attack is very good. This young team went to England three months ago and played exceptionally well. It was a fantastic series to watch. Exceptional cricket performances by Shubman Gill, Yashashvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, and Rishabh Pant.
He also praised Indian bowling depth and added, "Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep, and Ravindra Jadeja have been exceptional too. India is a bundle of talent. South Africa, I know they've played well in Pakistan, but India in India is a different kettle of fish, and they'll have to play really, really well to compete with India.”
Rishabh Pant returned to the squad after his injury, which he suffered during the fourth Test in England. He came back into the field and gave himself some game time as India A's captain. The two-match series against South Africa A in Bengaluru ended at 1-1. Akash Deep also made a comeback in the squad. Going by the series, Dhruv Jurel’s immense performance and Axar Patel’s tremendous form will add pressure to the management, as Shubman Gill and company have to choose the playing combination.
Test Squads:
India: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep.
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (C), Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Dewald Brevis, Zubayr Hamza, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Simon Harmer.
