Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ravindra Jadeja, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul, Navdeep Saini and Washington Sundar
Along with Bhuvneshwar, even Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal are absent, meaning India's bowling attack will be headed by Ravindra Jadeja. His fellow spinners are Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, and Rahul Chahar while Hardik will have Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini for company in the pace-bowling department.
With Dhoni not included for a second consecutive series, Rishabh Pant retains his place as the only wicketkeeper in the squad. However, Hardik has been named after being rested across all three formats for the ongoing West Indies tour, which followed a long World Cup campaign, and the IPL, which was won by his side Mumbai Indians.
The series begins with the first T20 at Dharamsala on September 15 followed by matches at Mohali and Bangalore on September 18 and 22, respectively. After the T20s, the three Tests start from October 2.
India vs SA 2019: Hardik Pandya returns for T20s, Dhoni still missing from the squad
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has returned to India's T20 squad for the three-match series against South Africa, replacing Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the only change from the side that was selected for as many T20s in West Indies. MS Dhoni, however, continues to be missing after opting for a break during the West Indies tour.