South Africa named uncapped left-arm spinner Paul Harris in their squad for the remaining two Tests against India.
Dane Piedt produced the best performance by a debutant South African spinner as the Proteas thumped Zimbabwe by nine wickets to retain their number one status following the one-off conTest at the Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
South Africa will head to India armed with three frontline slow bowlers in their Test squad after recalling leg-spinner Imran Tahir and off-break bowler Dane Piedt for the four-match series starting in November.
The hosts have suffered a body blow with Jacques Kallis pulling out of the squad because of a back strain.
South Africa made an early breakthrough with the wicket of West Indian Leon Johnson when play got underway on a rain-delayed fourth day of the third and final Test at Newlands on Monday.
Philander's partnership with Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel has earned the trio the label as the most-balanced and penetrating attack in world cricket.
South Africa paceman Kagiso Rabada bagged another five-wicket haul to take his Test match tally past 100 as his side wrapped up a comprehensive innings and 254-run victory over Bangladesh in Bloemfontein on Sunday.
Kagiso Rabada and Keshav Maharaj ran through the Bangladesh batting order to lead South Africa to an emphatic 333-run victory in the first test as the visitors capitulated meekly on the final morning on Monday.
Virat Kohli is the lone Indian batsman to be figuring in the top-10 in the ICC Test batsmen rankings.
Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes a look at some players Indian fans will miss following their exploits in the Indian Premier League.
ICC's proposal to introduce four-day Tests has met with stiff opposition
South Africa have included the world's number one test bowler Vernon Philander in their preliminary 30-man squad for the World Twenty20 tournament to be played in Bangladesh in March and April next year.
All cricketing activity has come to a halt due to the health crisis and there are serious doubts over the future of T20 World Cup. However, the International Cricket Council is yet to take the final call on the T20 showpiece event.
South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis described Kagiso Rabada's performance as "phenomenal" after the young paceman helped turn a parlous situation on day two of the first Test against Australia into a thumping 177-run victory on Monday. The tourists had done well to get to 242 all out after being 5-81 on day one but were looking down the barrel of a heavy defeat when Australia raced to 158 without loss on day two. Matters got worse when, having finally broken the opening partnership, South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was forced off the field with a shoulder fracture that ruled him out of the series.
No Indian cricketer figures in the ICC's World Cup XI, which is dominated by runners-up New Zealand rather than champions Australia.
Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar says South Africa will be a tough challenge for India in the upcoming Test series and marked out Proteas leg-spinner Imran Tahir as the one bowler to watch out for.
Check out the Kolkata Knight Riders squad for IPL 2014.
JP Duminy has been named in the South African Twenty20 squad for the three-match home series against West Indies next month, but a number of other top players will again be rested.
The Proteas bowlers took part in a thorough session under the watchful eyes of Langeveldt with the aim of increasing their workloads and mapping out expectations and game plans ahead of the 72-day tour which starts with the first Twenty20 match in Dharamsala on October 2.
South African captain Graeme Smith is reportedly unhappy with Cricket South Africa's (CSA) announcement of player contracts as it has been difficult for some of the players to handle.
South Africa exceeded expectations by scoring 431 in their first innings. At stumps on Day 4, they were 11 for one, needing another 384 runs for an improbably victory.
South Africa fast bowling great Allan Donald will join Australia as bowling coach for their tour of Sri Lanka this year, local media reported on Wednesday.
The post-match media conference by India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni got disrupted for the second time in three years at the Saurashtra Cricket Association (SCA) Stadium, in Rajkot, on Sunday, because of laser show and bursting of crackers by the organisers.
Mominul Haque (28) and Tamim Iqbal, who hit a six off the final ball of the day to reach 22, were not out at stumps on Friday as Bangladesh began their reply after South Africa's tea-time declaration on 496 for three.
A resurgent Sunrisers Hyderabad have been on a slow but sure climb but it is defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders who hold a psychological edge when the teams face-off in their Indian Premier League match at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Monday.
SunRisers Hyderabad beat Kolkata Knight Riders by 16 runs (via Duckworth/Lewis method) in their rain-curtailed Indian Premier League match in Visakhapatnam.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni will be eager to break the sequence of reverses and get Rising Pune Supergiants' campaign back on track when they lock horns with in-form Kolkata Knight Riders.
Defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders beat Mumbai Indians by seven wickets at the Eden Gardens to begin their Indian Premier League (IPL) defense on an emphatic note.
AB de Villiers has been ruled out of South Africa's two-test home series against New Zealand this month with an injured elbow and Faf du Plessis will take over the captaincy.
The visitors required a single wicket to secure success after South Africa resumed on 293 for nine, chasing an improbable victory target of 417.
Captain Virat Kohli roared back to form with a scintillating unbeaten 83 as India further consolidated their position with whopping overall lead of 403 runs at stumps on Day 3 of the fourth and final Test against South Africa at the Feroz Shah Kotla, in Delhi, on Saturday.
South Africa have now lost five Tests in a row, including two shock home losses to Sri Lanka, and are struggling with on-field know-how to dig themselves out of tough situations.
Australia captain Steve Smith expects his touring batsmen to be given a thorough test of their credentials when they face South Africa's formidable attack on pace-friendly pitches in a four-Test series beginning in March.
South Africa paceman Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the test series against Australia with a shoulder injury. Steyn left the field before lunch on day two of the first Test in Perth and scans revealed he had suffered a stress fracture, Cricket South Africa said in a statement on Friday.
Philander was an important part of the Proteas pace troika, comprising Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel, both of whom have retired from Tests.
The pacer took 4-60 as India were bowled out for 307 runs in their first innings, conceding a 28-run lead. The hosts finished at 90/2, leading overall by 118.
South Africa have retained the same 15-man squad that saved the series with Pakistan in October for their two home Tests against India later this month.
Dale Steyn became the second South African bowler to claim 400 Test wickets.
'We are at this stage where we have lost almost all of our experience'
Pacer Vernon Philander claimed six for 21 as South Africa thrashed Australia by a huge margin of 492 runs to claim the four-match series 3-1, in Johannesburg, on Tuesday.
