IND vs SA | Temba Bavuma named captain of South Africa for two-Test series after recovering from injury

Temba Bavuma returned to the helm of the South African Test team for the two-match series in India. The Proteas skipper had missed the tour of Pakistan with a calf strain, but has returned to the 15-member side in place of David Bedingham.

Bedingham was part of the 16-member team that played two Tests against Pakistan earlier this month, but did not feature in either match. He was South Africa’s joint-highest run-getter in their victorious WTC 2023-25 cycle with 711 runs at an average of 35.55. But the middle-order batter has been going through a lean patch with only one fifty, against Zimbabwe, in his last 13 innings.

Apart from Bedingham, off-spinner Prenelan Subrayen also misses out with the Proteas sticking to their spin trio of Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, and Senuran Muthusamy. Subrayen featured in the first Test against Pakistan, in place of an injured Maharaj, picking up two wickets in their 93-run loss.

The spinners had an excellent outing in the sub-continent conditions, with Harmer and Muthusamy picking 13 and 11 wickets, respectively, from two games. Meanwhile, Maharaj took nine wickets in the second Test, his only outing in the series, to be awarded the Player of the Match in Rawalpindi. The visitors have retained their pace bowling unit too, with Lungi Ngidi once again missing out on a place in the side.

The Proteas will go to India with the confidence of a 1-1 draw in the two-match Test series in Pakistan. The first of the two Tests will be played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata from November 14 to 18, while the second game will be played at the Assam Cricket Association Stadium in Guwahati from November 22.

South Africa Squad for India Tests

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.