Ramandeep gets maiden call-up for India for South Africa T20s along with a host of other new faces for the 4-match series.
Ramandeep Singh and fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak have earned their maiden India call-ups for the T20I series in South Africa.
A spot in the squad has also been found for Yash Dayal, who has recently joined India’s Test team but has not yet made his international debut.
The Kolkata Knight Riders’ explosive march to the IPL championship earlier this year was largely attributed to Ramandeep’s end-overs hitting. Despite facing just 62 balls during the tournament, he amassed 125 runs at a strike rate of 201.61. This sees him ranking fourth among all batters who faced at least 50 balls during the season. Ramandeep is a capable medium-pacer and a potent outfielder. This was seen by his viral boundary catch at the most recent Emerging Teams Asia Cup in Oman.
Vyshak, a seamer for Karnataka and Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was one of five up-and-coming players to sign fast-bowling contracts with the BCCI. Although he has been on the margins of national selection in recent months. He has recently shown promise in the red-ball format as well, taking 10 wickets at 24.90 during the Duleep Trophy. He is well-known for his speed variations in white-ball cricket.
On the other hand, Dayal was initially a member of the India A team that is going on a shadow tour to Australia alongside the main Test team. He will instead be a member of the T20I team in South Africa after being pulled from that tour. Prasidh Krishna, who also secured a spot in the Test squad for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has taken his place in the India A team.
Due to injuries, the T20I team includes three major absences. Riyan Parag is recovering from what the BCCI described as a “chronic right shoulder injury” in their team release. Due to unidentified injuries, seam-bowling all-rounder Shivam Dube and fast bowler Mayank Yadav were both sidelined.
After an impressive tournament debut, regularly surpassing 150 kph and winning Player of the Match in his first two games. Mayank has been plagued by recurring injuries, including an abdominal muscle problem that prevented him from playing in the 2024 Indian Premier League. Mayank made his international debut during the recent home T20Is against Bangladesh.
The T20I team is also missing all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy and fast bowler Harshit Rana. Also well-known all-format players Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Jasprit Bumrah, and the injured Kuldeep Yadav. This because the South Africa tour partially overlaps with the Test tour of Australia.