Quinton de Kock will captain South Africa's T20 side during their upcoming trip to India. There are also three newcomers in the squad for the three-match T20 International series, with Temba Bavuma and Anrich Nortje included and Lions allrounder Bjorn Fortuin in line for an international debut.
Faf du Plessis was not included in South Africa's T20 squad, but will captain South Africa in the three-Test series that follows the T20s, with Bavuma named as his vice-captain. Cricket South Africa's acting Director of Cricket Corrie van Zyl stressed that du Plessis "remains an important part of our plans for white-ball cricket" despite his absence from the T20 squad.
Nortje was one of three new caps in South Africa's Test squad, along with wicketkeeper Rudi Second and spin-bowling allrounder Senuran Muthusamy.
Offspinner Dane Piedt returns to the Test squad on the back of very impressive performances in domestic four-day cricket, having topped last season's bowling tables with 54 dismissals. Also included is Zubayr Hamza, who was one of only two batsmen to make double hundreds in the franchise four-day competition last season, and made his Test debut against Pakistan in January.
"All three newcomers to the Test side have more than earned their spurs through impressive performances in last season's Four-Day Franchise competition," said van Zyl.
"We feel we have covered all the options for the conditions we are likely to encounter on the sub-continent with Muthusamy and Dane Piedt, who was far and away the leading wicket-taker in our Four-Day competition, providing the back-up to Keshav Maharaj.
"Zubayr Hamza made an impressive start to his Test career against Pakistan last season when Faf du Plessis was ruled out and the retirement of Hashim Amla creates a further opportunity for him."
Aiden Markram, Theunis de Bruyn and Lungi Ngidi were not considered for T20 selection as all three are part of the South Africa A squad that will be playing four-day cricket in September. Allrounder Chris Morris, who has been playing for Hampshire in the Vitality Blast, did not make himself available for selection. Dale Steyn, who recently retired from Test cricket, did make himself available for T20 selection, but was not picked.
"As far as the T20 squad is concerned, Temba Bavuma and Bjorn Fortuin were two of the standout players in the CSA T20 Challenge last season while Nortje was outstanding in the Mzansi Super League until ruled out by injury," van Zyl said. "This is very much a form squad with players being rewarded for their consistent performances at franchise level. This applies equally to Junior Dala and Jon-Jon Smuts.
"The T20 series gives us the last chance to have a look at our leadership and batting options as the next edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup is now little more than a year away which is why we have gone with an inexperienced leadership group," explained van Zyl. "This is our last chance to do this before we settle on an established squad."
Test match squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Temba Bavuma (vice-capt), Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Dean Elgar, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Rudi Second.
T20I squad: Quinton de Kock (capt), Rassie van der Dussen (vice-capt), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Jon-Jon Smuts.