Calcutta: Sure, it's prudent to keep fingers crossed, yet it's a fact that MSK Prasad & Co. have picked an excellent Test squad for the three-match series in South Africa.

The first Test is in Cape Town, from January 5.

India haven't beaten South Africa in even one of the six previous series, from the path-breaking one in 1992-93 till 2013-14, so expectations from Virat Kohli and his men are understandably sky high.

The top reason being the squad actually has plenty of ammunition. Or, as chief selector Prasad described it in New Delhi, "the best balanced" to be picked for South Africa.

Prasad's point about "best balanced" would generally be accepted.

Almost all the players selected themselves, which made Prasad and his colleagues' job easier. Apparently, "very little" time was spent on discussing the Test squad (the T20I boys for the series against Sri Lanka were also picked on Monday).

Some may question Parthiv Patel being selected as the No.2 'keeper, after the absolutely brilliant Wriddhiman Saha, but Prasad & Co. preferred "continuity."

That much has to be granted to them.

"Parthiv had played when Saha had to miss three Tests last season and he did a decent job... Plus, let's not forget that experience comes in useful...

"If, God forbid, Saha gets injured, then it's not that Parthiv would be exposed as wickets in South Africa won't be such where he'd have to stand up too much. Look, he is competent," a well-placed source told The Telegraph.

Parthiv is 32. His Test debut was back in August 2002, but the number of his matches have just been 23.

Prasad and his colleagues deserve special praise for picking Jasprit Bumrah, thus far seen as an ODI and T20I specialist only since his India debut, in January 2016.

Bumrah enjoys so much goodwill that there would have been an uproar had he not figured in the South Africa-bound XVII.

It won't come as a surprise if Bumrah, 23, makes the Test XI sooner rather than later. He could well be India's X factor.

India would be travelling to South Africa with an awesome new-ball attack (seniority-wise): Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Bumrah.

Left-arm 'chinaman' bowler Kuldeep Yadav has followers and some may feel as disappointed as the 22-year-old himself.

However, it's a tour of South Africa and not, say, the West Indies. Also, Kuldeep isn't going to dislodge either Ravichandran Ashwin or Ravindra Jadeja.

"It's unfortunate that Kuldeep had to miss out. Considering him over the world's No.1 and No.2 spinners would have been a big ask," Prasad acknowledged.

The batsmen, of course, all selected themselves - from captain Virat Kohli to Lokesh Rahul. Ajinkya Rahane is in poor form, but his credentials got due respect and he has retained the Test vice-captaincy too.

Well, Virat has the ingredients to prepare something special. It would now just be about getting the proportions right against the No.2-ranked Test nation.

India are at No.1.