The squad has three notable absentees, all due to injury. Batting allrounder Riyan Parag is undergoing rehabilitation for what the BCCI’s squad announcement termed a “chronic right shoulder injury”. Fast bowler Mayank Yadav and seam-bowling allrounder Shivam Dube were also unavailable due to unspecified injuries.

Mayank, who made his international debut during the recent home T20Is against Bangladesh, has been troubled by constant injuries including an abdominal muscle issue that ruled him out of IPL 2024 after he had made an eye-catching tournament debut, consistently crossing 150kph while picking up the Player of the Match award in his first two games.

India squad for T20Is against South Africa

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.