With World Test Championship points on the line, a full-strength squad is likely to be picked for the longest format when the squads for the tour of South Africa are selected in New Delhi on Thursday.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) senior selection committee will pick four teams which includes India A, India T20I team, India ODI team and Indian Test team for the tour of the Rainbow Nation.

Virat Kohli has already informed the Indian board that he will not be available for the white-ball leg of the tour but will play the two-Test series in Centurion and Cape Town starting 26th December.

The selection committee is likely to put more emphasis on Test cricket and a full-strength squad will be available. South Africa remains the final frontier for India as they have never won a Test series there. A triumph there will also boost India’s prospects for a third successive appearance in the World Test Championship final.

It is still not clear whether India captain Rohit Sharma has also asked for a break from white-ball cricket, like Kohli. But he will be available for the Tests later on the tour.

India will play three T-2OIs, three ODIs and two Tests, and the first batch of players will depart from Bangalore on 6th December.