South Africa's Aiden Markram has been ruled out of the opening Twenty20 international against India with Covid-19, skipper Temba Bavuma said Thursday after he won the toss and elected to field first.
The tourists have handed a debut to Tristan Stubbs at the start of the five-match series as Bavuma's side begin preparation for the T20 World Cup later this year.
"Aiden was not available for selection as he tested positive for Covid, Stubbs comes in and it is a debut for him," Bavuma said at the toss.
"It is an important series as we haven't been together as a group since the World Cup, it is a preparation for the World Cup coming up in Australia."
This is the first cricket series being played in India without the bubble restrictions since the coronavirus pandemic.
India's Rishabh Pant makes his debut as national captain after KL Rahul, who was originally named leader of the team, was ruled out to a groin injury on the eve of the opener.
"It is one of the proudest moments in my cricketing career so far. Because a Delhi boy getting that (captaincy) honour at Delhi is a huge thing for me," Pant said at the Feroz Shah Kotla ground.
"We know our XI but at the same time we are giving different roles to players and see how they cope with that going forward."
Dinesh Karthik makes a comeback into the team after three years, riding on his blistering form in the recently concluding Indian Premier League tournament.
IPL's winning captain Hardik Pandya, who led Gujarat Titans to a title triumph in their debut season, returns after his back injury and will be Pant's deputy.
India are chasing a record of 13 consecutive T20 wins after they equalled the feat of 12 victories on the trot with Afghanistan Romania in February.
Teams:
India: Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (capt and wk), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel, Harshal Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Avesh Khan
South Africa: Quinton de Kock (wk), Temba Bavuma (capt), Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje.