IND vs SA 1st Test squad: Saha replaces Pant, Rohit to open

Team India will face South Africa in the first Test to kick off their home season in the ICC Test Championship. The match will be played on October 2019 in Visakhapatnam. Under the captaincy of Virat Kohli, the number one ranked team in the Test format will be looking to dominate and win the series. Team India will be coming to the Test after defeating West Indies in three different series (T20I, ODI and Test series). They would be eager to face the young South African team and continue their winning streak.

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India vs South Africa: Indian squad news

Rohit Sharma, who is known for his white-ball game, has an opportunity to shine in the red-ball game as an opener. However, Rohit has to be extremely careful in the early part of the match as South Africa will try to keep Team India under pressure from the start. After a below-par show in the recently-concluded West Indies Test, Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara would aim to show a better performance this time. Kohli and his deputy Ajinkya Rahane will also aim to start the home season on a positive note as both of them are in ace form.

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Earlier, the BCCI confirmed that Rishabh Pant has been replaced by wicketkeeper Wriddhiman Saha in the Test. The 21-year-old has been receiving criticism from fans for his past few performances. Saha, on the other hand, will make his comeback after a gap of a one year and eight months. After displaying excellent bowling against West Indies, Jasprit Bumrah is not included in the squad to face South Africa due to injury issues. However, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja will be present to take charge of the bowling department.

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India's Probable Playing 11 

Virat Kohli (Capt), Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Hanuma Vihari, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ishant Sharma, Md Shami.

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