Overview
- India host South Africa in Tests at Eden Gardens from November 14–18 and at Guwahati’s Barsapara Stadium from November 22–26 in the new WTC cycle.
- Shubman Gill led India’s Kolkata training with extended net work under coaches Gautam Gambhir and Sitanshu Kotak, while Jasprit Bumrah kept a light bowling workload.
- South Africa coach Shukri Conrad said he is quietly confident in Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy after strong subcontinental returns, with the visitors drilling hard on spin plans.
- Selection balance remains a live topic for India, with former assistant coach Abhishek Nayar advocating a pace‑heavier XI at Eden Gardens and some calls to leave out Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar.
- Beyond the series build‑up, Ravichandran Ashwin forecast a potential T20 opening shake‑up, and the Ashes picture shifted as Australia assessed hamstring scares for Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott while England’s Ben Stokes defended a single in‑house warm‑up.