Gujarat Titan's Sai Sudharsan is the quickest Indian in terms of innings to reach 1,000 runs in IPL.
Though Shubman Gill travelled with the Indian team to Guwahati on Wednesday, his injury is unlikely to heal in time ahead of the second Test, which begins on Saturday.
Chennai Super Kings head coach Stephen Fleming says the defending champions were undone by "high calibre" batting effort of the Gujarat Titans openers -- skipper Shubman Gill and B Sai Sudharsan -- during their 35-run defeat in the IPL match in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Pant, who will lead India A, is returning after a three-month absence because of a foot injury which he sustained in July in England, and now the 28-year-old southpaw is aiming to get back to the national fold during the two-match Test series against the Proteas.
'You have a lot of options if you want to see. You can remove Abhishek Sharma and Shubman Gill and you can open with Sai Sudharsan and Ruturaj Gaikwad...'
South Africa were dealt a major blow before the first ball was even bowled, with pace ace Kagiso Rabada ruled out of the opening Test against India due to a rib injury.
Shubman Gill will return 'better, stronger' after T20 World Cup snub: Gujarat Titans COO
Chasing 121 for victory, India were 63/1 at stumps and West Indies will draw solace from being able to force a final-day finish after being made to follow on.
India will be desperate for a quality replacement for the crucial No. 4 slot with Shubman Gill likely to be ruled out for the must-win second and final Test against South Africa.
IMAGES from the IPL 2024 match between Gujarat Titans vs Shubman Gill at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Friday.
Application required in Test cricket was missing, says Kumble after India's batting collapse
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has expressed surprise over Sarfaraz Khan's omission from India A squads for the home series against South Africa, calling the decision unfair.
Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Yashasvi Jaiswal, skipper Shubman Gill were among India's Test regulars in action during the second day of the intra-squad match against India A.
Earlier in the day, B Sai Sudharsan has etched his name in Indian cricket history by making his Test debut on June 20.
Centuries from openers Shubman Gill and Sai Sudharsan powered Titans to an emphatic victory against champions CSK.
Former India batter Sanjay Manjrekar has stirred up fresh controversy with his latest IPL 2025 rankings, leaving fans fuming after snubbing two of the tournament's top run-scorers.
Shubman Gill celebrated his maiden Test series win as India completed a 2-0 sweep over West Indies at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi.
He also highlighted the team's focus on playing good cricket and improving in areas like fielding.
South Africa completed a memorable 2-0 series sweep against India after off-spinner Simon Harmer claimed 6/37 to bowl the Proteas to a comprehensive 408-run victory in the second Test,
Rishabh Pant's return to competitive cricket after a three-month injury-enforced hiatus will be the primary focal point of India A's four-day match against South Africa A.
Former New Zealand player Ian Smith put down the Shubman Gill-led India's recent red ball struggles at home to their diminishing ability against spin.
A nasty bouncer ended Prasidh Krishna's fighting knock on Day 2 of the unofficial Test in Lucknow on Wednesday
Sudharsan and Rinku put on 55 runs for the fourth-wicket stand.
Team India skipper Shubman Gill is unlikely to feature in the second Test against South Africa, with Cricket Association of Bengal sources confirming that he is not travelling to Guwahati with the team on Wednesday.
India A skipper Rishabh Pant will look to build on the gains from the first match, while the likes of Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav will aim for crucial red-ball game time in the second four-day match against a Temba Bavuma-led South Africa A in Bengaluru from Thursday.
Those early wickets from Shami and Joseph, and some tight bowling and wickets by Rashid in the middle, didn't allow DC to go big or build worthwhile partnerships, leading to their undoing.
Sai Sudharsan and Prithvi Shaw failed to get big scores in their English county games for Surrey and Northamptonshire respectively.
In India's first innings, only Yashasvi Jaiswal (58 off 97 balls) and Washington Sundar (48 off 92 balls) could contribute substantially as the home team suffered a batting collapse after starting the day at 9 for no loss.
There are at least six contenders for a couple of reserve middle-order slots for the five-Test series in England, starting in June.
Virat Kohli gave Royal Challengers Bengaluru fans a brief scare during their IPL 2025 clash against Gujarat Titans on Wednesday
273 runs to his name, he has surged to the second position in the Orange Cap race and also became the first Indian to cross the 200-run mark in IPL 2025.
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.
Little-known ambidextrous Bengal spinner Kaushik Maity seamlessly doubled up for both roles during the optional practice session.
K L Rahul made a solid 74 before retiring hurt as India remained on course to chase a formidable 412-run target set by Australia A on day three of the second unofficial Test in Lucknow on Thursday.
'Rishabh Pant is not fit for West Indies series, hopefully he will be available for home Tests against South Africa.'
Gujarat Titans assistant coach Parthiv Patel isn't the least bit surprised to see Sai Sudharsan enjoying a prolific run in IPL 2025.
India wicketkeeper-batter Dhruv Jurel, who played in the fifth and final Test at The Oval against England in their last assignment, has been named Iyer's deputy.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and K L Rahul perished early as India fumbled in the chase of a mammoth 549-run target on Day 4 of the second Test.
Gujarat Titans scored a resounding 38-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad, in Ahmedabad on Friday, to move a step closer to the Indian Premier League play-offs.
Shubman Gill might just want to be fit enough to bat, as even a half-fit skipper is seen as more effective than Sai Sudharsan, Abhimanyu Easwaran or Sarfaraz Khan.
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