South Africa vs India 2018: India's probable playing XI for the first Test 

After playing at home and familiar conditions over the last two years, Indian team is set to kick off their first assignment of 2018 against South Africa at the Newlands in Capetown from January 5.

The Indian selectors have named a strong 17-member squad for the tour. However, there is the question of selecting the best possible XI as there are a few spots in the playing XI which more than two players are fighting for.

The team combination (6-5 or 7-4) with which the Indian team will go in, the bowling attack (2-2 or 3-1 or either of them with Hardik Pandya providing an extra seam option) are some of the key areas the team management will look to address.

Let us take a look at India's probable playing XI for the first Test.

Squad: Virat Kohli (Capt), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

Openers

One of the conundrums for the Indian team ahead of the South African tour is the form of all the three opening batsmen. Murali Vijay, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, all three of them are in fine form and are fighting for a place in the playing XI.

Murali Vijay

In all likelihood, it is certain that Murali Vijay will be one of the openers for the Indian team as the presence of the right-hander at the top of the order will ensure that there will be someone to see through the new ball and set a platform for the batsmen to follow.

Shikhar Dhawan

KL Rahul scored seven consecutive fifties in 2017 and had a phenomenal year before he was dropped from the playing XI. It looks like the right-hander will have to wait for his chance as India's coach Ravi Shastri confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan, thanks to his recent form, will open the batting along with Vijay. The team will expect the left-hander to get them off to a flying start whenever he comes out to bat.

There were some reports of the southpaw being ruled out of the first Test due to an injury. But, the Delhi batsman was fine and was seen practising at the nets ahead of the game.

Middle order

Cheteshwar Pujara

Cheteshwar Pujara has been rock solid at number 3 for Virat Kohli's men and had a stunning home season. Replicating that success away from home won't be easy for Pujara but the right-hander will just look to do that and prove that he is a man for all conditions.

Virat Kohli (c)

The last two years saw the Indian skipper scale greater heights both as a batsman and as a captain. Kohli holds the key for the Indian team and the skipper will look to lead from the front when he takes the fields in South Africa.

Ajinkya Rahane

Out of all the Indian players, Ajinkya Rahane is facing a lot of criticism after having a below-par series against Sri Lanka that saw him score less than 10 runs in the entire series. Rahane has been India's crisis man when the team toured overseas four years back and the Mumbaikar will look to find his form and do what he did in the past in these conditions.

Rohit Sharma

Number 6 is an area of concern for the Indian team as the player who will take this spot will be decided after the team combination is fixed. If the team management wants to go in with six batsmen and four bowlers, Hardik Pandya will get the nod and if they decide to go in with a 7-4 combination, Rohit Sharma will be batting at this position.

At least for the first Test, it is expected that India's vice-captain in ODIs will get the nod ahead of his Mumbai Indians teammate, thanks to his recent heroics.

Wicketkeeper- Wriddhiman Saha

India has as many as three wicketkeepers (Parthiv Patel, Wriddhiman Saha and part-time keeper in KL Rahul) in the squad that has travelled to the rainbow nation.

Unless Saha suffers a last-minute injury, it is unlikely that Parthiv will get the nod in the upcoming series. Saha was one of India's most underrated players in their home seasons as he was very crucial with the bat and played a majority of his knocks with the tailenders and was fantastic behind the stumps.

Spinner- R Ashwin

Over the last two years, a bulk of the wickets taken by India in Tests belonged to spin twins R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. Not long ago, the duo were the World number 1 and 2 in the ICC Test bowlers rankings.

But, it is highly unlikely that both the spinners will play together in a Test match in the next few months as the Indian team will play on centres that don't assist them. Both these bowlers are not only Kohli's strike bowlers but also are capable of scoring some crucial runs down the order.

So, in all likelihood, World number 4 in Tests, Ashwin, will feature in the first Test ahead of Jadeja, who is ranked third. Ashwin has worked on a lot of variations in his off time and one can expect to unleash them at the Proteas batsmen in the upcoming series.

Fast bowlers

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the only bowler in the Indian team who is a regular in the playing XI across all the three formats. Though he did not get enough chances to play Tests last year, Bhuvneshwar has made a strong case for himself for a place in the playing XI with his recent exploits.

Mohammed Shami

Mohammed Shami has been one of India's best Test bowlers as the Bengal pacer consistently threatened the opposition teams with his pace and bounce over the last two years on wickets that hardly suit the pacers. With the wickets in South Africa set to assist the pacers, Shami will have a key role to play in the Indian team.

Ishant Sharma

This will be Ishant Sharma's fourth trip to South Africa and the team management will hope that the senior-most player in the squad will come to the party during this crucial tour. Unlike the previous tours, Ishant looks matured of late and one can expect the lanky pacer to lead the Indian pace attack from the front.