India pacer Deepak Chahar and wicketkeeper batter Ishan Kishan will join India 'A' squad for the South Africa tour following the conclusion of the ongoing T20I series against New Zealand, Cricbuzz reported on Saturday (November 20).

Chahar and Kishan will board a flight for Bloemfontein after India's third and final T20I against New Zealand in Kolkata on Sunday (November 21). The hosts have already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

Led by Priyank Panchal, the India 'A' side has already reached Bloemfontein for the start of the three-match red-ball series against South Africa ‘A’.

According to Cricbuzz, the duo of Chahar and Kishan will assemble in Mumbai on November 24 to depart for Bloemfontein. There is a possibility of all-rounder Shardul Thakur joining the squad at a later date as well. Shardul is not part of India’s Test squad for the New Zealand series.

Earlier, BCCI had named Hanuma Vihari to India ‘A’ squad after axing him from the senior squad for home Tests versus New Zealand. Vihari’s omission led to outrage as he hasn’t featured in a Test match despite playing a match-saving knock in his last appearance at SCG earlier this year.

Meanwhile, the inclusion of Chahar and Kishan will bolster the squad for three four-day games in Bloemfontein, starting November 23. The second and third games kick-off on November 29 and December 6, respectively.

Chahar will add force to the pace-attack which is already laced with Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel and Arzan Nagwaswalla, while Kishan will be another wicker-keeping option in the side besides Upendra Yadav.

India ‘A’ squad for South Africa tour: Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla, Hanuma Vihari

(With Cricbuzz inputs)