<p> 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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>This is the first cricket series being played in India without the bubble restrictions since the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Dinesh Karthik makes a comeback into the team after three years, riding on his blistering form in the recently concluding Indian Premier League tournament.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Teams:</strong></p>.<p>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</p>.<p>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.</p>
<p> 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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>This is the first cricket series being played in India without the bubble restrictions since the coronavirus pandemic.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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."</p>.<p>Dinesh Karthik makes a comeback into the team after three years, riding on his blistering form in the recently concluding Indian Premier League tournament.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p><strong>Teams:</strong></p>.<p>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</p>.<p>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.</p>