Published: Sep 10, 2015, 02:39 PM (IST)
Edited: Sep 15, 2015, 12:22 PM (IST)
Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday announced the squads for South Africa’s tour of India 2015 for 4 Tests, 5 One-Day Internationals and 3 Twenty20 Internationals. South Africa will be in India for a marathon tour which will go on for as many as 72 days. Hashim Amla will be leading the South Africans in the 4-Test series, whereas AB de Villiers will continue to remain the leader in the 50-over format. Faf du Plessis, who has been an integral part of the Indian Premier League (IPL) side Chennai Super Kings (CSK), will be leading the tourists in the T20I series. In team news, Dane Piedt and Imran Tahir returned to the Test squad whereas Khaya Zondo will be making his debut in the T20I series. COMPLETE COVERAGE: India vs South Africa 2015
The tour begins on October 2 with the first T20I to be played at the scenic Dharamsala. The second match of the series will be played on October 5 in Cuttack, whereas the third and final T20I between India and South Africa will be played on October 8 in Kolkata.
The tour will then move into the second leg of the limited-overs series, with the first ODI slated on October 11 at Kanpur. The second ODI will be played at Indore on October 14. The third will be played at Rajkot on October 18, whereas the fourth and the final ODIs will be played in Chennai and Mumbai on October 22 and 25 respectively. ALSO READ: MS Dhoni vs Virat Kohli: Who should captain India against South Africa in ODIs?
The Test series will begin in November, with Virat Kohli’s young Indian cricket team taking on the experienced men that South Africa have under the apt leadership of Hashim Amla. Kohli’s India is on a high after their historic win in Sri Lanka in their three-Test series after 22 long years.
“We want to keep all our options open for the Test Series,” commented CSA selection convener, Linda Zondi. “We also have JP Duminy as an option in this department and I believe we have covered all our bases by having both holding and attacking spin options in our squad. It is good to have Dane back from his injury and Imran was our No. 1 spinner for our last Test series on the sub-continent against Sri Lanka.”
The respective cricket boards of India and South Africa, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and CSA had agreed that all their future bilateral series would be called ‘The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series’. The series is also fondly called as the ‘Gandhi-Mandela Series’. ALSO READ: India vs South Africa bilateral series to be called ‘The Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series’
South Africa squads for tour of India 2015:
For 4-Test series: Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel. Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas.
For 5-match ODI series: ODI Squad: AB de Villiers (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw and Dale Steyn.
For 3-match T20 series Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese and Khaya Zondo.
