The Proteas had kept the decision on playing Rabada open until Friday morning.
The 34-year-old mystery spinner rewrote the record books during the fifth and final T20I against South Africa at Ahmedabad on Friday, casting a spell of his bamboozling spin magic on the Proteas batters, four of them surrendering to his bowling.
A record-extending 52nd ODI century by Virat Kohli and a rapid 57 from Rohit Sharma paved the way for India's victory in the series-opener in Ranchi.
Nadine de Klerk demonstrated icy-cool demeanour under pressure and shepherded South Africa to a three-wicket win over Bangladesh in a thrilling Women's World Cup match, in Visakhapatnam.
With the T20 World Cup less than two months away, India would want their captain Suryakumar Yadav to rediscover his rhythm sooner rather than later.
A toe injury suffered before the fourth T20I is set to keep Gill out of the final T20I here as India would want to take a cautious route, more so when there is a ready replacement for the top order slot in Sanju Samson.
This was India's fourth defeat in the last six Tests at home and in all four Tests -- including three against New Zealand -- their batters have flopped against spin.
Salman Ali Agha top scored for Pakistan as they snatched a last-over victory over South Africa on Tuesday in an exciting finish to the first of three One Day Internationals at Faisalabad.
Lungi Ngidi's call-up indicates that Kagiso Rabada, who missed the team's memorable win in Kolkata due to a rib injury, is still uncertain for the Guwahati Test
The controversial decision to select Shubman Gill in place of a well-settled Sanju Samson as the opener has backfired for the Indian team so far.
Virat and Rohit have made oppositions look silly, fun to see them in dressing room: KL Rahul
The collapse, India's lowest failed chase at home, has left behind deeper fault lines than a dry Eden Gardens wicket can conceal.
Simon Harmer led South Africa's lion-hearted bowling effort as the Proteas registered a thrilling 30-run victory against India inside three days of the low-scoring opening Test.
The lack of runs from captain Suryakumar Yadav and his deputy Shubman Gill remains a talking point.
Opener Saim Ayub scored a quickfire 71 from 38 balls and seamer Faheem Ashraf took 4/23 as Pakistan cruised to a nine-wicket win over South Africa in the second T20I.
'We expect inbound numbers in 2025 to come close to pre-pandemic levels -- if not fully match them -- by early 2026.'
The Proteas have included three frontline spinners in the squad with Keshav Maharaj leading the attack, while also consisting of Simon Harmer and Senuran Muthusamy, who was the player of the series against Pakistan.
South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, who missed the first Test against India in Kolkata due to a rib injury, is in awe of his team's ability to rebound from setbacks.
Virat Kohli has two hundreds and a fifty in his last three innings, while Rohit Sharma has a hundred and two fifties in his last four outings.
Jadeja reduces South Africa to 93/7 in second innings, India smell big win
Yashasvi Jaiswal smashed his maiden ODI hundred to power India to a 2-1 series win after they thrashed against South Africa by nine wickets in the third and final ODI.
South African captain Temba Bavuma mixed grit with humour after his team's shock win over India in Kolkata, celebrating his hard-fought fifty and the "small hands" catch that turned the match on its head.
Despite this, Bangladesh's inconsistent top order remains a significant concern. Skipper Nigar Sultana Joty, who also performs wicketkeeping duties, has struggled for runs, averaging just nine in the tournament.
The T20 WC champions will look to enter this phase with clarity of intent as they refine roles, streamline combinations and settle the XI that will carry the weight of expectations in front of home crowds.
Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad hundreds help India set 359-run target in second ODI
India will look to address several lingering selection puzzles when they take on South Africa in Ranchi on Sunday in the first ODI of the three-match series, where Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the set-up for a short audition that could well shape their 2027 World Cup fate.
Deepti Sharma and Shafali Verma guided India to a historic 52-run victory over South Africa which saw the ICC Women's World Cup 2025 hosts lift the trophy for the first time.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 auction saw some foreign names earning big bucks, headlined by Aussie all-rounder Cameron Green
'4 lakh to 5 lakh people graduating in computer science getting jobs in software companies will not happen.'
India have a mounting worry in the lack of runs so far from talismanic Smriti Mandhana, skipper Harmanpreet Kaur and the energetic Jemimah Rodrigues.
South African captain Temba Bavuma on Sunday said his game is built around an unshakeable defence, which stood him in good stead on a disintegrating Eden Gardens track, where 38 wickets fell inside eight sessions.
For the first time in many years, India are going into a home Test match as underdogs and not favourites. Ask any player worth his salt and he would tell that it is not a happy place to be.
Expect some fireworks for the highly-versatile Cameron Green along with Quinton de Kock, Matheesha Pathirana, Venkatesh Iyer and Ravi Bishnoi.
Quinton de Kock has reversed his retirement from ODI cricket and has been named in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
Ahead of the mini-auction, scheduled to be held in Doha on December 26, the 10 franchises have released their list of retained and released players.
Images from Day 1 of the first Test between India and South Africa, in Kolkata, on Friday.
South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was overwhelmed to see his spinners rule the roost in the first Test against India at the Eden Gardens, signalling to him that the Rainbow Nation is no longer an exclusive "fast bowling country" and hoped that a lot more slow bowlers will emerge.
Hard-hitting left-handed batter David Miller also returns to the T20 squad, as does Donovan Ferreira.
India's awe-inspiring batting depth will face a stern test against South Africa's quality spin attack in the first Test, starting in Kolkata on Friday.
On paper, Pakistan are no match for South Africa even though Fatima Sana's team did win an ODI in the bilateral series that served as a dress rehearsal for the World Cup.
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