The tourists picked four fast bowlers and one specialist spinner in Imran Tahir on a greenish pitch at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association ground that is expected to assist seam movement.
Sreenath Aravind, a 31-year-old left-arm seamer from Karnataka, will make his international debut for India to partner new-ball bowlers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Mohit Sharma.
South Africa are to play three T20s, five one-day internationals and four Tests on the 10-week tour.
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Axar Patel, Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Sreenath Aravind.
South Africa: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Farhaan Behardien, Hashim Amla, Marchant de Lange, AB de Villiers, JP Duminy, Imran Tahir, David Miller, Chris Morris, Kagiso Rabada.
Umpires: Vineet Kulkarni(IND) and Chettithody Shamshuddin (IND)
TV umpire: Anil Chaudhary (IND)
Match referee: Chris Broad (ENG)