SA vs IND: 3 surprising inclusions in India's Test squad

The upcoming Test series between India and South Africa promises to be an absolute cracker of a contest. Because the stakes are going to be high, the Kohli-led side needs to be at its best. Thus, there were a lot of talks regarding their squad, as well as the players who deserve to be a part of it, and those who do not.

Amidst all the rumours, the Indian squad for the red-ball series against the Proteas has finally been announced. While it consists of the regular names, a few calls have managed to take the fans by surprise. Although the 18-member squad consists of several stalwarts, a few inclusions are to an extent, debatable.

Despite having moderate results of late, a few individuals find themselves in this squad. So which of these inclusions are questionable? Do these players deserve a place in such a star-studded side? 

Here are 3 surprising inclusions in India’s Test squad for South Africa tour:

1) Ajinkya Rahane

Despite all his class as a batter, Ajinkya Rahane should consider himself lucky to have featured in the Indian Test squad once again. Taking his current form into account, trusting him to do well in the hostile conditions of South Africa seems difficult. Of late, the Mumbai batter has been consistently inconsistent.

He has scored just one century in his last 15 Tests, that being his 112 against Australia in the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2020-21. To make matters worse, whenever he has got starts, he has failed to convert them into big scores.

He scored 35 and 4 in the first Test against New Zealand as well. Thus, Rohit Sharma has replaced him as the vice-captain of the Test team too. Besides, taking the current form of players like Shreyas Iyer and Hanuma Vihari into account, the 33-year-old isn’t a certainty in the playing XI.