Rishabh Pant is returning to mainstream cricket after July. Before the series between India and South Africa, he was chosen as the captain of the India-A squad against South Africa-A for two four-day matches, scheduled to start on 30th October.

So, India’s Test vice-captain will be missing the Ranji Trophy. The wicketkeeper-batsman was ruled out of the game for three months with a broken foot, which forced him to miss the Asia Cup, Test series against West Indies, and the Australia tour.

South Africa Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma will also feature in the 2nd four-day match ahead of the India-South Africa Test series. Bavuma missed out on the Pakistan tour as he was sidelined with an injury.

India will also play three One-Day matches against South Africa-A, starting 13th November. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s participation in the matches has not yet been confirmed. The BCCI has not yet announced the squad for those three One-Day matches yet.

The 1st four-day match will have young players from India’s Test squad, including Sai Sudharsan and Devdutt Padikkal. It is also an opportunity for Rajat Patidar to impress as he is eying a Test comeback on the back of scintillating red-ball form. However, one surprising omission is of Sarfaraz Khan, who continues to be absent since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year.

While Rishabh Pant will continue to lead the squad in the 2nd match, he will have India’s Test regulars. KL Rahul, Prasidh Krishna and Mohammed Siraj, who are not in India’s T20I squad for the Australia tour, will play the 2nd match against South Africa A.

Significantly, Mohammed Shami continues to be neglected by the BCCI selection committee. It seems that the selectors are not willing to bring him back to at least Test cricket. Despite proving fitness, and having shown his class in Bengal’s Ranji Trophy opening match against Uttarakhand, Mohammed Shami has not found a place in the India-A squad for South Africa-A series. He picked up 7 wickets for Bengal against Uttarakhand.

Shami recently made headlines when he countered BCCI chairman of selectors, Ajit Agarkar’s, claims about his fitness. Agarkar said he was not fit ahead of Asia Cup. He was also not considered for the ODIs against Australia. However, his absence in the India-A series raises the question of whether selectors have planned to show him the door permanently!