South Africa begins its Test series in India with the first match starting on Friday, November 14, at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. Ahead of the game, team news has revealed that Axar Patel may miss the first Test, while Dhruv Jurel is expected to feature alongside Rishabh Pant, with the assistant coach confirming both could play together.

Nitish Kumar Reddy has been ruled out of the first Test, not due to injury, but as part of team management decisions.

BCCI confirmed that Reddy will join India A team for the ODI series against South Africa A in Rajkot and will rejoin the main squad for the second Test after the A series concludes.

Rishabh Pant, returning from injury sustained during the England tour, is fully fit and likely to take up wicketkeeping duties if both he and Dhruv Jurel are in the playing XI.

Probable India XI for Kolkata Test

Batsmen: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudarshan, Shubman Gill (captain)

Wicketkeeper: Rishabh Pant

All-rounders / Batsmen: Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav

Fast Bowlers: Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj

The team may adopt a spin-heavy combination with three spinners (Jadeja, Sundar, Kuldeep) and two pacers (Bumrah, Siraj) in Kolkata.

The first Test between India and South Africa will be live on Star Sports, with streaming available on the JioHotstar app and website.