Outgoing skipper Virat Kohli, pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja were rested for the short series.
Rohit Sharma will lead India in the upcoming three-match T20 International series against New Zealand, starting November 17, in Jaipur.
K L Rahul was named vice-captain.
Rohit will take over the reins of the squad following Virat Kohli’s decision to step down as skipper after the T20 World Cup.
Rohit's appointment was a formality, claimed a senior BCCI official.
"I don't know who all spread this misinformation but when Rohit Sharma is available, there are no other options for white ball captaincy at the moment. Yes, KL Rahul is around but he is only being considered as a deputy for time being," the official said.
"Obviously, when Rohit takes a break he will lead but he is the white ball leader going forward," he said.
While BCCI didn't say anything about ODI captaincy, it is understood that the it wants one white ball captain going into the 2023 50-over World Cup and a decision for the three-match ODI series in South Africa will be taken at an appropriate time.
"I am still not sure if the board will retain Virat as ODI captain. There will be some discussions but chances are bleak. He will certainly remain the Test captain," the official added.
The T20I matches will be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21).
The series will be followed by the two Tests, in Kanpur (November 25-29) and Mumbai (December 3-7).
The new-look 16-man squad, announced on Tuesday, also has IPL 2021's highest run-getter Ruturaj Gaikwad and leading wicket-taker Harshal Patel along with Venkatesh Iyer, who is seen as a potential all-round replacement for the injury-plagued Hardik Pandya.
Pandya was dropped from the squad after failing to make an impact during India’s disastrous campaign in the T20 World Cup.Pandya, who didn't actually provide an honest picture of his fitness status, has been dropped from the squad.
It is understood that the selection committee is extremely annoyed with his fitness woes and he is the only person, who is actually dropped and not rested.
"Hardik Pandya has not yet recovered from his lower back injury. However if the former T20 captain (Kohli) was bent on having him at No 6 as a specialist batter, Chetan (chief national selector Chetan Sharma) and his team had to relent.
"Ditto when he asked for five spinners and then realised that he had asked for one too many," a senior BCCI official told PTI.
Ruturaj already played for India in the Sri Lanka series.
Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returns to the squad while Mohammed Siraj, who has played a few T20Is in the past, also made it.
Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar, who were among the T20 World Cup reserves, are now in the main squad.
Outgoing skipper Virat Kohli, pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja were rested for the short series.
The selection committee also picked the India 'A' squad for the South Africa tour scheduled to start on November 23, 2021, in Bloemfontein.
The team will play three four-day matches during the tour.
India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel and Mohdammed Siraj.
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.
