KL Rahul will captain India in the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the five-match home T20I series against South Africa in June.

Several senior players, including all-format captain Sharma, will only return for the one-off Test in Birmingham beginning 1 July as India and England attempt to complete their unfinished five-match series, which India lead 2-1.

Squad selectors issued a maiden call-up for pace sensation Umran Malik and left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh for the 18-member T20I squad against the Proteas.

Both Malik and Singh have impressed with their stellar performances during the ongoing IPL.

Right-hand batsman Cheteshwar Pujara also received a callback for the 17-member Test squad on the back of his superb performance for Sussex in England’s County Championship, while wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik earned a place in the 18-member T20I team.

All-format seamer Jasprit Bumrah has also been rested for the T20I series, which begins on 9 June in Delhi, but earned a spot in the Test squad.

India under Sharma will be playing at full strength in the crucial Test match against England, which had been scheduled for last September at Old Trafford but was postponed following Covid-19 cases in the Indian camp.

T20I squad: KL Rahul (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.

India Test squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), K.S. Bharat (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

© Agence France-Presse