India's vice captain Rishabh Pant is on the cusp of creating history in the first Test against South Africa at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Rishabh Pant nears historic six-Hitting record in Test
The star wicketkeeper-batter has already smashed 90 sixes in his Test career and needs just one more to surpass the legendary Virender Sehwag and claim the record for the most sixes hit by an Indian in the longest format of the game. Among all active Indian Test players, only all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja comes close to Pant's phenomenal tally, currently standing at 80 sixes.
Indian batters with most sixes in Tests:
| Batters | Sixes |
| Virender Sehwag | 90 |
| Rishabh Pant | 90 |
| Rohit Sharma | 88 |
| Ravindra Jadeja | 80 |
| MS Dhoni | 78 |
The outing against Proteas will also mark Pant's return to international cricket following a brief injury layoff. The 28-year-old hurt his foot during the fourth Test against England at Old Trafford, Manchester, which sidelined him for nearly three months. He recently made his competitive return playing for India A against South Africa A in Bengaluru. However, it is the young talent, Dhruv Jurel, who is expected to feature in the playing XI for the first Test, replacing Nitish Kumar Reddy. The 24-year-old has heavily impressed the team management, most recently scoring unbeaten knocks of 132 and 127 against South Africa A in the unofficial Test. Jurel's solid form also saw him score a century during Pant's absence in the West Indies series, making his inclusion a straightforward decision. Even India's assistant coach Ryan Ten Doeschate confirmed Jurel's inclusion in India's playing XI for the first Test against South Africa which is scheduled to start from November 14.
Updated India's Test squad for SA series:
Shubman Gill (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper/vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep
South Africa’s Test squad for India series:
Temba Bavuma (captain), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton (wicket-keeper), Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne (wicketkeeper)