India and South Africa will square off in a five-match T20I series, beginning June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. The Proteas had arrived in the national capital on June 2 and the side has been preparing since then. The Indian contingent was on a break after the intense Indian Premier League (IPL), and the side assembled in Delhi on Sunday and the squad finally began training on Monday.
The BCCI's official Twitter handle shared a video of the squad's training at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
The senior pros - Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah - have all been rested for the T20Is against South Africa. Youngsters such as Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh, who impressed in the recently-concluded IPL have been given an opportunity in the series.
KL Rahul will be leading the Indian side in the absence of Rohit. Veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has also made his way back into the squad on the back of some strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL.
Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to IPL glory in their debut season, has also returned to the squad. Hardik had last played for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are also a part of the T20I squad. From the previous T20I series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, Venkatesh Iyer has retained his place.
Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are also a part of the squad. Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also present while Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh who has given strong performances has also earned a call-up to the national side.
India T20I squad: KL Rahul (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(vc) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.