After going down by 30 runs against South Africa on Sunday (November 16) in the first Test of the ongoing two-match series played at Eden Gardens in Kolkata, the Indian men’s cricket team would like to
come up with a big show in the second Test. The second red-ball match between the two teams is scheduled to take place at Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati from November 22 to 26. India captain Shubman Gill suffered a neck injury on Day 2 of the Kolkata Test, because of which he didn’t come out to bat in the second innings. Shubman, who was admitted to a hospital in Kolkata on Saturday evening for treatment, is a doubtful starter for the second Test, and there’s a high possibility that Indian team management could rest him.
If Gill misses out, then Rishabh Pant will captain India in the first-ever Test match at Barsapara Cricket Stadium. Pant was appointed as India’s vice-captain on May 24, 2025, and in Gill’s absence he led the side in the majority of the first Test and even attended the post-match presentation ceremony.
If Gill is rested or is not available for the second Test, then Indian team management could include Karnataka batter Devdutt Padikkal in the playing XI. The 25-year-old left-handed batter is part of India’s Test squad and has played a couple of Test matches as well. He made his Test debut against England in Dharamsala on March 7, 2024, and scored 65 runs as a No. 4 batter in the first innings.
In the ongoing Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, he played one match for Karnataka against Saurashtra in Rajkot and scored 96 runs in the first innings.
He could be an ideal replacement for Gill in the side for the Guwahati Test unless the BCCI decides to call Karun Nair or Sarfaraz Khan as Gill’s replacement for the must-win match.
Nair, who played four Test matches for India in the 2025 edition of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, has been in red-hot form these days. The 33-year-old right-handed batter has scored one double century (233), one century (174*) and a couple of half-centuries (73 and 95) for the Mayank Agarwal-led side.
Tamil Nadu batter B Sai Sudharsan, who was dropped from India’s playing XI despite scoring 87 and 39 runs in the two innings of the second Test against the West Indies in Delhi last month, is also expected to return as a No. 3 batter.
Indian batters struggle to score big runs in the Kolkata Test, and so the team management would like to strengthen the batting unit by bringing back Sudharsan.
Sudharsan’s return to the XI will mean that Washington Sundar might return to his usual No. 8 position.
Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to retain their place in the playing XI for the second Test, but Axar Patel could be dropped to the bench to make space for Sai.
India’s likely playing XI for the 2nd Test against South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (C and WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj.
