India vs South Africa: Indian squad for the tour - 2013 and Now

All-rounder – Hardik Pandya

Another new entrant into the squad for South Africa in 2018 will be the wiry Hardik Pandya. The 24-year old made his debut into the foray of Test Cricket in mid-2017 and is often termed as the perfect all-rounder that India had been searching for.

Although he’s played just 3 Tests till date and accrued 178 runs at an average of 59.33 in the process, his 108-run innings against Sri Lanka at Kandy is ample proof of the exciting talent that this young lad brings to the table. His right-arm medium-fast bowling is another arrow in his quiver and he will look to increase the number of Test scalps next to his name from the current tally of 4 wickets in 3 Test matches at an average of 23.75.

Pacers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar

India will be going to South Africa with an inherently pace-heavy attack and Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be expected to make his way into the department. He was a part of the squad that had toured the Protean lands in 2013 but had to sit out both Tests in order to make way for the likes of Zaheer Khan and Mohammad Shami.

Come 2018, Kumar is as likely as any of the other four pacers to find a place in the Playing XI. In the time span of 2014-17, the 27-year old has bowled in 22 innings, where he’s picked up 44 wickets at an average of 25.00. In the process, he’s also reeled in 4 five-wicket hauls, two of which have come against England on English soil.

Mohammed Shami

Last time around, Mohammed Shami was fairly successful in his quest against South Africa as he picked up 6 wickets in 2013 in the two Tests combined. He made his Test debut just a month before the tour to South Africa back in 2013 and since then, has turned out to be one of the pace spearheads for Team India.

The only drawback that the 27-year old has faced is the umpteen number of injuries that have plagued his career. In spite of that hindrance, Shami has bowled for the nation 23 Test matches from 2014 onward and bagged 78 scalps at an average of 31.78. If his fitness poses no bar, the fiercely accurate bowler can very well be expected to lead the charge of the pacers.

Ishant Sharma

As the most senior player in the Indian side in terms of experience, Ishant Sharma will have a big role to play in the efforts put in by the Virat Kohli-led side in the 2018 tour. 2013 had seen him pick up only 5 wickets in the two Test matches, going completely wicket-less in the second game at Durban.

However, the 29-year old has ever since redeemed himself and has been bowling with new-found restraint, successfully bamboozling the opposition in the process. He has managed to notch up each of his 4 five-wicket hauls in the last four years, all 4 of them coming on foreign grounds. The time period of 2014-17 has found Sharma achieving 77 scalps in 26 matches at an average of 32.16.

Umesh Yadav

Umesh Yadav was another of the pacers who’d had to warm the bench in the 2013 India Tour of South Africa. But that may not be the case this time as he’s been exceptionally effective for his national side in the past four years, where he has bagged 67 wickets in 27 Test matches at a paltry economy of 3.41.

Yadav can be expected to exploit the Protean conditions, which he’ll find to his liking, to the best of his abilities and bring out the lethal double-edged sword of pace and bounce that he possesses.

Jasprit Bumrah

Probably the most sensational new entry to the India Test squad for South Africa has been the young Jasprit Bumrah. The 24-year old won hearts with his childishly excited post of himself wearing whites for the first time for his country and a lot of hopes will be pinned on him.

On his maiden Test call-up, Bumrah will draw heart from the numerous excellent performances he’s delivered for his country in the limited-overs format of the game. In the 63 International games that he’s played for the country, he’s picked up 96 wickets at an average of 21.25 and will be hungry to extend to his prowess to the regal arena of Test cricket.