Indian team to assemble in Delhi on June 5, South Africa squad arrives on June 2

The Indian cricket team will assemble in New Delhi on June 5 ahead of the five-match T20 series against South Africa.

Team India will host South Africa for five T20 Internationals starting from June 9 and the board has asked its players to assemble in Delhi, the venue for the first T20I, on June 5. The South African team will arrive in New Delhi on June 2.

There will be no crowd restrictions and there will be no bio-bubble for the series, though players will be tested regularly for COVID-19. The other venues are Cuttack (June 12), Visakhapatnam (June 14), Rajkot (June 17), and Bengaluru (June 19).

''The Indian team will assemble here on June 5 while the South Africans land in Delhi on June 2,'' DDCA joint secretary Rajan Manchanda told PTI.

The Indian cricketers are in the middle of a much-needed break post a two-month-long IPL. KL Rahul will lead the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who has been rested along with senior members, including Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami.

All-rounder Hardik Pandya and wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik make comebacks to the squad, while left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh gets his maiden call-up along with SunRisers Hyderabad's tearaway pacer Umran Malik.

Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan retain their places in the squad along with all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer, despite their ordinary outings in IPL 2022.

Kolkata Knight Riders captain Shreyas Iyer has retained his spot along with all-rounder Deepak Hooda, who has grown from strength to strength in the last few months. Hooda has been in fine form for Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022.