With KL Rahul ruled out by injury, Rishabh Pant will take over as captain of a weakened India team in their home Twenty20 series against South Africa
Pant gets top gig for South Africa series
Wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant will lead India in the home Twenty20 series against South Africa after KL Rahul was ruled out with a groin injury.
Top order batsman Rahul had been put in charge after India decided to rest several frontline players, including regular captain Rohit Sharma and stalwart Virat Kohli, at the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) last month.
Pant will be the eighth man to captain India in T20 Internationals, with MS Dhoni (72 times) and Kohli (50) the most-capped skippers in the format.
Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav will also miss the five-match series after sustaining a hand injury while batting in the nets ahead of Thursday's series opener in New Delhi, the Indian cricket board said in a statement.
Allrounder Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to a memorable IPL victory in their debut season, will be Pant's deputy.
The home side have not named any replacements for the injured two.
South Africa meanwhile, are at full strength for the five-match series, which begins on June 9.
Both sides have won their last four T20 Internationals and will be looking to take momentum into this year's T20 World Cup, which is now only a tick over four months away.
India squad: Rishabh Pant (c), Hardik Pandya, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen