The bowling stocks looks good, but the major concern will be around the batting line-up, which struggled on the recent tour of England.
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Wednesday.
South Africa in trouble at 58-4 in 'Boxing Day' Test
Bavuma has replaced Dean Elgar as skipper in the longest format, though the latter remains part of a much-changed squad.
Ravichandran Ashwin on Sunday became the joint fastest to take 350 wickets, matching Sri Lankan great Muttiah Muralitharan's feat in his 66th Test.
Images from Day 4 of the second Test between Australia and South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on Thursday.
'You saw how far down he was ... That's just absolutely taking the mickey. That's not just taking off before I bowl it. He was a metre down the wicket.'
Sri Lanka beat South Africa by 199 runs with more than a day to spare in the second and final Test to complete a 2-0 series sweep at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground on Monday.
South Africa have named uncapped batsman Theunis de Bruyn in their injury-hit squad for the three-match home Test series against Sri Lanka that starts on December 26.
Images from Day 1 of the third Test between Australia and South Africa at the SCG on Wednesday.
India completed a 3-0 series whitewash of South Africa with a comprehensive innings and 202 runs win in the final Test in Ranchi on Tuesday. The Proteas were no match to the hosts as they suffered two innings defeats in the three-match Test series.
Rohit Sharma and Mayank Agarwal on Thursday became only the third Indian opening pair to share a 300-run partnership in Test cricket.
But the focus will be on 19-year-old Gill, who has broken into the Indian Test squad for the three-match series against the Proteas, starting on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
Spinner Moeen Ali crowned his excellent series by taking five wickets as England beat South Africa by 177 runs in the fourth Test in Manchester on Monday to secure a 3-1 series victory.
Fast bowler Mohammed Shami picked up a five-wicket haul while left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja took four in South Africa's second innings to hand India a convincing 203-run victory, in the opening Test.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will miss the first Test against England at Lords starting on Thursday due to family reasons, the cricket board confirmed.
Mohammed Shami produced a brilliant spell of reverse swing bowling to strike the mortal blows that earned India victory by 203 runs in the first Test.
Middle-order batsman Omphile Ramela struck an attractive century as South Africa 'A' posted a comfortable 293 for 4 on the opening day of the first unofficial 'Test' against India 'A', in Wayanad, Kerala, on Tuesday. Riding on the left-hander's 112 off 197 balls, the Proteas dictated terms after skipper Dane Vilas chose to bat.
Led by Quinton de Kock, South Africa's 44 cricketers, who are part of a men's high performance squad, have returned to training amid the COVID-19 pandemic after getting approval from the country's sports ministry. South Africa has reported more than 1,38,000 COVID-19 cases with over 2,400 deaths.
South Africa captain Faf du Plessis walked for the toss along with Temba Bavuma as the proxy captain, who was given the responsibility of calling the toss.
Ravi Shastri and bowling coach Bharat Arun had a close look at the pitch which wore a dry look, indicating that it would have something for the spinners.
While wicket-keeper-batsman Klaasen recently notched 69 runs from 30 balls in South Africa's six-wicket win over India in the 2nd T20I, 20-year-old Mulder has played a single ODI against Bangladesh at East London in October 2017.
Markram's good form augurs well for the Proteas
Images from Day 3 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Pune.
Captain Faf du Plessis led from the front with a hard-earned century to give South Africa a commanding 205-run advantage at the end of the second day of the second Test against Pakistan, at Newlands, on Friday.
Replying to India's 497-9 declared, South Africa were all out for 162
Chasing an improbable target of 490 to level the series, the tourists finished day three on 139-5, their highest total in the spin-dominated series, at Colombo's Sinhalese Sports Club Ground.
Images from Sunday, Day 4 of the second Test between India and South Africa, in Pune.
Vernon Philander took two wickets in as many balls to leave Pakistan on 17 for two wickets at the end of the first day of the third Test after they had rallied earlier on Friday and bowled hosts South Africa out for 262.
South Africa have named six uncapped players in their 17-man squad for the first two Tests of the four-match series against England as new coach Mark Boucher seeks to revive the fortunes of the ailing side. Batsmen Pieter Malan and Rassie van der Dussen, fast bowlers Dane Paterson and Beuran Hendricks, all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius and wicketkeeper Rudi Second will all hope to make their debuts in the first Test starting in Pretoria on December 26.
A dominant India quickly wrapped up the last two wickets to win by a comprehensive margin of an innings and 202 runs and complete an emphatic 3-0 series whitewash against South Africa.
Hashim Amla struck an unbeaten half-century as South Africa brushed aside some early alarms to record a six wicket victory over Pakistan on day three of the first Test at Centurion Park on Friday.
Umesh Yadav admitted that the credit for his first two wickets entirely goes to Saha for his brilliant display behinds the stumps.
AB de Villiers and Dale Steyn make their long-awaited return to the South Africa Test squad for the day-night four-day Test match against Zimbabwe to be played at St. George's Park, Port Elizabeth, from December 26 to 29.
Fast bowler Anrich Nortje, wicketkeeper/batsman Rudi Second and spin bowling all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy have been included in the 15-man squad that will be captained by Faf du Plessis.
South Africa fought back in the afternoon session on the third day of the fourth Test on Sunday, reducing England to 138 for six in their second innings and restricting the hosts to a lead of 274.
A wicketkeeper rarely earns kudos purely for his glovework but Wriddhiman Saha enjoyed that rare acclaim during the second Test against South Africa at Pune.
Opener Shubman Gill, who is part of the Indian squad for the South Africa Tests, perished for a three-ball duck in the second innings.
South Africa's fiery seamer Duanne Olivier took five wickets as the hosts powered into the ascendancy on day two of the third and final Test against an outgunned Pakistan at the Wanderers on Saturday.
Umesh feels that the current lot has gained rich experience over the years and is setting the benchmark for the next batch of players.
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