India include Ramandeep, Vyshak and Dayal in T20I squad for South Africa tour

Middle-order batsman Ramandeep Singh and fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak have been selected for their first-ever call-up to the Indian team for the upcoming four-match T20I series against South Africa. The series is set to kick off on November 8 in Durban.

Left-arm quick Yash Dayal, who has recently been part of India's Test squad but is yet to make his international debut, has also found a place in the squad.

Ramandeep's end-overs hitting was a key cog in Kolkata Knight Riders' storming run to the IPL title earlier this year. He only faced 62 balls in the tournament, but scored 125 runs off them at a strike rate of 201.61 - the fourth-best among all batters to have faced at least 50 balls through the season. Ramandeep can also chip in as a medium-pacer and is a gun outfielder, which he demonstrated while taking a boundary catch that went viral during the recent Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman.

Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bengaluru seamer Vyshak has been on the fringes of national selection over the last few months, and was one of five emerging players to earn fast-bowling contracts from the BCCI. He is known for his pace variations in white-ball cricket, and has impressed in the red-ball format recently as well, taking 10 wickets at 24.90 during the Duleep Trophy.

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.

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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.

It is not known if Dube's injury is the same back issue that ruled him out of the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh. Middle-order batter Tilak Varma, who had replaced him for that series, keeps his place in India's squad.

There are also recalls for the fast bowler Avesh Khan and spin-bowling allrounder Axar Patel. Axar was rested from the Bangladesh T20Is because he was part of India's Test squad during a busy home season, but he has not found a place in the touring party to Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, with Washington Sundar effectively leapfrogging him into that squad. Axar has now taken Washington's place in the T20I squad.

With the South Africa tour partially coinciding with India's Test tour of Australia, the T20I squad is also without fast bowler Harshit Rana and allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, as well as established all-format players including Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah and the injured Kuldeep Yadav.

India are scheduled to play four T20Is in South Africa, in Durban (November 8), Gqueberha (November 10), Centurion (November 13) and Johannesburg (November 15).

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.