Three spinners in Proteas Test squad

South Africa have named three frontline spinners in their squad for the upcoming four-Test series in India.

Legspinner Imran Tahir and incumbent Simon Harmer are joined by off-spinner Dane Piedt, who played his one and only Test against Zimbabwe last year.

Dane Vilas, who made his Test debut in the rain-affected draw with Zimbabwe in July, will retain the wicketkeeping gloves in the Test side.

"We want to keep all our options open for the Test Series," said selection convener Linda Zondi.

"We also have JP Duminy as an option in this department and I believe we have covered all our bases by having both holding and attacking spin options in our squad.

"It is good to have Dane back from his injury and Imran was our No. 1 spinner for our last Test series on the sub-continent against Sri Lanka."

The Proteas also named their squads for the three-match T20 series and five one-day internationals that will precede the Tests, with the uncapped Khaya Zondo a new face in the T20 squad.

"The tour to India is a very long one," said Zondi.

"It lasts for more than two months and we can’t expect Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel to field too heavy a workload.

"Chris (Morris) comes back after a spell out through injury while Marchant (de Lange) has done well at the IPL.

"It is an ideal opportunity to explore our back-up options ahead of the ICC World Twenty20 which will be played in India. It is vital in this format to get wickets up front.

"Imran is our No.1 bowler in the T20 format and we need him to play every series between now and the ICC tournament, while Eddie Leie will be our second spinner as we want to have another look at what he can do. 

"Chris is also a potential candidate for a position as a bowling all-rounder in the ODI team so this is another option we want to explore. We also believe he is well suited to the conditions we will encounter there."

Test squad
Hashim Amla (c), AB de Villiers (vc), Temba Bavuma, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Imran Tahir, Morne Morkel, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl, Dane Vilas

ODI squad
AB de Villiers (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Chris Morris, Aaron Phangiso, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Dale Steyn

T20 squad
Faf du Plessis (c), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Quinton de Kock, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, Eddie Leie, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada, David Wiese, Khaya Zondo