3 clear indications from India A's squad for the red-ball matches against South Africa A ft. Rishabh Pant

On Wednesday, October 22, the BCCI announced India A's squad for the upcoming red-ball games against South Africa A. The A tour matches will be played ahead of the Proteas' Test tour of India.

Both encounters will be played at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The series will commence on Thursday, October 30, with Rishabh Pant making a long-awaited return to the field being the major headline.

India A squad for the 1st four-day match vs South Africa A: Rishabh Pant (c) (wk), Ayush Mhatre, N Jagdeesan (wk), Sai Sudharsan (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Rajat Patidar, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Anshul Kamboj, Yash Thakur, Ayush Badoni, Saransh Jain.

India A squad for the 2nd four-day match vs South Africa A: Rishabh Pant (c) (wk), KL Rahul, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Sai Sudharsan (vc), Devdutt Padikkal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Harsh Dubey, Tanush Kotian, Manav Suthar, Khaleel Ahmed, Gurnoor Brar, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Akash Deep.

The selectors haven't revealed much about their thought process while selecting the squad, since a press conference wasn't held. However, there are a few interesting signs worth taking a look at.

On that note, here are three clear indications from India A's squad for the one-day matches against South Africa A.

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#3 Sai Sudharsan has been appointed the vice-captain ahead of other names

England v India - 5th Rothesay Test Match: Day Three - Source: Getty

Names like Rajat Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Dhruv Jurel have been in and around the captaincy mix as far as the A teams and Duleep Trophy teams are concerned. However, for this rubber, the selectors have named Sai Sudharsan as Pant's deputy despite the presence of the three aforementioned names across the two matches.

Perhaps the fact that Patidar, Gaikwad and Jurel won't play both the contests weighed on the selectors' minds, but they had different vice-captains in a similar series not too long ago. Sai Sudharsan has a calm head on his shoulders, and although he doesn't have a great deal of leadership experience at the top level, it seems like a step in the right direction.

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#2 The areas in which India's red-ball contingent is thin is abundantly clear

2025 IPL - Chennai Super Kings v Rajasthan Royals - Source: Getty

Ayush Mhatre has been picked as one of India A's openers for the first encounter against South Africa A. While the youngster has tons of talent and has played a couple of notable knocks in the Ranji Trophy, it's debatable whether he should be around the A team at this point in time.

Mhatre's white-ball form for the U19s has been dismal in the recent past, and while the red ball has treated him favorably, he still has a long way to go. Not known to move his feet a great deal, the right-handed batter could use some time at the lower levels to tune his game further.

Meanwhile, in the pace attack, the hosts have picked just two names for the opening encounter - Yash Thakur and Anshul Kamboj. Both of them don't inspire much confidence on paper, indicating how thin the country's fast-bowling reserves are at the moment.

In the opening and pace departments, India have a long way to go.

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#1 Rishabh Pant is back!

England v India - 4th Rothesay Test Match: Day Five - Source: Getty

Last seen during India's fourth Test against England, Rishabh Pant is seemingly set for an international comeback during the home Test rubber against the Proteas. Before that, he will lead India A in these two red-ball matches.

Pant was long touted as one of India's frontline Test captaincy options, but that role has gone to Shubman Gill. Having him in and around the leadership setup will be a positive for the senior team, who recently oversaw the exits of strong characters like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Ravichandran Ashwin.

More importantly, Pant's foot seems to have healed sufficiently despite reports that it was taking longer than expected. His presence in the squad for both the matches hints that he has made a convincing recovery.