Calcutta: Both Imran Tahir and Dane Piedt were back in the South Africa Test squad to join Simon Harmer for a three-pronged spin attack for the upcoming Mahatma Gandhi-Nelson Mandela Series in October and November.

"We want to keep all our options open for the Test Series," commented CSA 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," he added.

Duminy features in all three formats. Tahir also returns to South Africa's T20 squad in place of Aaron Phangiso, while there are also recalls for Chris Morris and Marchant de Lange. "The tour to India is a very long one.

"It lasts for more than two months and we can't expect Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel to shoulder too heavy a workload. Chris comes back after a spell out through injury while Marchant has done well in the IPL. It is an ideal opportunity to explore our back-up options ahead of the 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 Twenty20 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."

Zondi also confirmed that Dane Vilas would retain the gloves in this format. "It is very important that we maintain consistency in our selections and Dane hardly had the chance to make his mark in Bangladesh where the series was so badly disrupted by the weather."