Hardik returns. Rahane stays.
Kuldeep misses out.
Gujarat speedster Jasprit Bumrah got his maiden call-up in the 17-member Indian Test squad for the South Africa tour while rookies Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda were summoned for the three-match T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka.
Captain Virat Kohli won't play the T20 Internationals against Sri Lanka. Rohit Sharma will lead the 15-member squad that has former skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni in it.
Bumrah was included as the fifth pacer in the Test team but left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav, currently in the squad for the Sri Lanka Tests, missed out.
The Test squad has three openers in Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan and Murali Vijay followed by Cheteshwar Pujara, Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and Rohit.
The four frontline pacers -- Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma -- were certainties like spinners Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja.
Hardik Pandya is the only genuine all-rounder while Parthiv Patel, after his gutsy show against England last year, booked his tickets for South Africa.
"Definitely, the players select themselves on form. Definitely, this is the best balanced side that has gone to South Africa," M S K Prasad, the chairman of the selectors said.
The 23-year-old Bumrah, who has 52 and 40 wickets respectively from 28 ODIs and 3O T20Is, has not played any first class cricket this season.
"If you see his performance in the last 18 months, it has been phenomenal, sensational in ODIs and T20. Considering the his brilliant performance in last year's Ranji Trophy, he was an unanimous choice," Prasad said.
"There was no doubt in picking Bumrah because he definitely adds variety to the pace attack. The nature of wickets in South Africa will suit his bowling," Prasad added.
Kuldeep Yadav missing out on a Test nod was "unfortunate", Prasad said.
"It is unfortunate that Kuldeep Yadav had to miss out as we will be playing only three Tests in South Africa. Considering him over the world's No 1 and 2 spinners (Ashwin and Jadeja) would have been a big ask. But he is a fine bowler and over a period of time, we would see him grow," Prasad said.
On Parthiv Patel's selection as the second wicket-keeper, Prasad reiterated that he is being seen as the second stumper in the longer version after Wriddhiman Saha.
For the new look T20 squad, the selectors picked Kerala fast bowler Thampi known for his toe-crushing yorkers while Hooda, originally from Haryana, plays for Baroda at the domestic level.
Washington, the 18-year-old talented off-spinner all-rounder, was one of the finds of the last IPL for Rising Pune Supergiants.
On the youngsters selected in the T20s, Prasad said: "The Basil Thampis and the Shreyas Iyers have all done well in domestic cricket and then on the India 'A' tour to South Africa. They are the best performers in the IPL."
The selectors felt that Siddharth Kaul was better suited for ODIs while Thampi was more adept for the shortest version.
When asked if there was any discussion on Dhoni's future, Board official Amitabh Chaudhary gave a short reply: "None at all."
The India team for South Africa: Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, K L Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Parthiv Patel (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.
India's T20 squad against Sri Lanka: Rohit Sharma (captain), K L Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Mohammed Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat.
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