The selectors included Vijaykumar Vaishakh and Ramandeep in the team for the South Africa tour.

MUMBAI Mumbai: The senior men's national selectors have included fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak and middle-order batsman Ramandeep Singh in the squad for the first time for the four-match T20I tour of South Africa starting in Durban from November 8.

With fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who made a sensational debut in the recent T20 series against Bangladesh, and middle-order batsman Shivam Dubey unavailable for selection due to injury, the selectors have looked to the left-arm pacer to strengthen the fast bowling attack. It has been decided to select bowler Vijayakumar. This team includes T20 World Cup winners Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal, who were recently part of the Test team but are yet to make their international debut. Karnataka fast bowler Vijaykumar Vyshak has performed well in the last few seasons after making his debut for Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2023.

Another T20 World Cup winner Hardik Pandya will be the most experienced fast bowling option for captain Suryakumar Yadav in the 15-member squad. In the absence of Shivam Dubey, Ramandeep Singh will add more strength to the middle order, in which apart from captain Yadav, Tilak Verma and Rinku Singh will be the main batsmen. Ramandeep Singh played an important role in Kolkata Knight Riders' IPL 2024 victory with his brilliant late hitting. Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson are likely to open the innings, which is certain after Samson's recent century against Bangladesh. “Ryan Parag was not available for selection and is currently at the BCCI Center of Excellence for long-term resolution of his chronic right shoulder injury,” BCCI Secretary Jay Shah said in a release issued on Friday night.