Leg-spinner Amit Mishra on Thursday said that a well balanced Indian team has the upper hand in the upcoming home Test series against South Africa. India is scheduled to host South Africa in a three-match T20 International series beginning in Dharamshala on Sunday, followed by a three-match Test series starting October 2. KL Rahul, who performer miserably in the tour against West Indies, was dropped from the Test side. Meanwhile, chief selector MSK Prasad revealed to Republic TV that Rohit Sharma would be considered as an opener for the side, ending speculations of when the 'Hit Man' was going to be given a chance. 

"We have a better team than them, a more balanced side. Our batsmen are better. In the bowling department also, we have better spin than them," Amit Mishra told reporters on the sidelines of an event. "The only area where there is a 50-50 competition is in fast bowling," he added.

READ | MS Dhoni to retire? Amid mass speculation, selector MSK Prasad speaks

Amit Mishra feels India has an upper hand

South Africa head into the series after a disastrous campaign in the World Cup. This will be the Proteas' first T20I series with wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock as skipper. "South Africa has the tag of chokers, we saw it in the recent ODI World Cup and also in T20 World Cup in 2016. They are not able to perform well under pressure, so that weighs them down. But yes they have the fighting spirit," Amit Mishra said. Asked about the recent success of wrist spinners around the world, Mishra said, "I feel disappointed that earlier wrist spinners were not favoured. If they had been favoured there were so many of them who used to perform well.  "The realisation was very late, but at the same time I'm happy that this realisation has come," Amit Mishra said.

READ: Ashes: Squads for the final test match announced by both teams

Team India's Test squad

India named their Test squad for the three-match Test series against South Africa scheduled to begin after the end of the T20 series later in September. KL Rahul, who performer miserably in the tour against West Indies, was dropped from the Test side. Meanwhile, chief selector MSK Prasad revealed to Republic TV that Rohit Sharma would be considered as an opener for the side, ending speculations of when the 'Hit Man' was going to be given a chance. Pacer Mohammad Shami was also included in the squad despite an arrest warrant issued against him by the court on the allegations of domestic violence by his wife. Shubman Gill was finally included in the Test squad after many hues and cry over his stellar performances for the India A side. India is also mulling the thought of having Wriddhaman Saha as their Test wicketkeeper following a string of poor shows from young Rishabh Pant and have included Saha also in the Test squad. 

India’s squad for 3 Tests: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (Wicket-keeper), Wriddhiman Saha (Wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill

READ | Virat Kohli recalls historic chase, amazed how MS Dhoni made him run

Team India's T20I squad against South Africa

India will be led by Virat Kohli while Rohit Sharma will be the deputy. Shikhar Dhawan, who had a silent outing in West Indies gets another go to make his bat do the talking. Youngster Shreyas Iyer gets rewards for his splendid outing in the Caribbean while Hardik Pandya makes a comeback after a much-deserved rest. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini complete the squad. South Africa's bilateral series against India starts from September 15 till October 23. The series will kick off with a three-match T20I series on September 15, 18 and 22 at Dharamshala, Mohali and Bengaluru respectively which will be followed by a three-match Test series which is a part of the ICC World Test Championship 2019-21 cycle. South Africa will come back to India once again in March 2020 for a three-match ODI series. South Africa will be led by Faf du Plessis in Tests and Quinton de Kock in the game's shortest format.

READ | Sakshi Dhoni rubbishes retirement talks, says 'its called rumours'