South Africa have rested batter Temba Bavuma for their home white-ball series against India this month after a poor World Cup, but he will captain the team in the two-Test series which starts on December 26.
Bavuma was, by his own admission, not 100 per cent fit as South Africa bowed out of the World Cup semi-finals after losing to eventual champions Australia. He opened the innings in the tournament but averaged only 18.12 across his eight games with a highest score of 35.
Aiden Markram will captain both the T20 and ODI sides against India, a dual role he may well take on in the future.
Quinton de Kock retired from ODIs at the end of the World Cup but is still available for T20s, though he will skip this series and instead play for the Melbourne Renegades in Australia’s domestic Big Bash competitions, which starts on Thursday.
Batters David Bedingham and Tristan Stubbs have been included in the Test squad for the first time, along with fast bowler Nandre Burger, who appears in the selections across all three formats.
There are recalls for keeper-batter Kyle Verreynne and all-rounder Wiaan Mulder for the Test and ODI series, but premier pacer Kagiso Rabada has been rested from the limited-overs games to be ready for the Tests. Gerald Coetzee, Lungi Ngidi and Marco Jansen will also not play the ODIs for the same reason.
India’s tour will start with three T20Is in Durban, Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth) and Johannesburg from December 10-14.
