Spinner George Linde and wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen made their Test debuts, as the Proteas bowled first on day one in Ranchi on Saturday.
Spinner Dane Piedt, batsman Zubayr Hamza and fast bowler Lungi Ngidi were also named in the South African XI for this third and final Test.
New issue: Bavuma – one size fits all
Aiden Markram and Keshav Maharaj were sidelined by injury, while middle-order batsman Theunis de Bruyn, seamer Vernon Philander and all-rounder Senuran Muthusamy were dropped.
The left-handed Quinton de Kock will open the batting in the absence of Markram and won’t keep wicket.
India captain Virat Kohli won the the toss and opted to bat first. Vice-captain Temba Bavuma, rather than captain Faf du Plessis, represented the Proteas at the toss. Du Plessis hasn’t won a toss in a Test away from home in six consecutive attempts.
The hosts replaced fast bowler Ishant Sharma with debutant left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem.
The home side boast an unassailable 2-0 series lead after comfortable victories in the first Test in and the second in Visakhapatnam and Pune.
India: Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli (c), Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shahbaz Nadeem, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami.
South Africa: Dean Elgar, Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Faf du Plessis (c), Temba Bavuma, Heinrich Klaasen (wk), George Linde, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.
Photo: Gallo Images
