KL Rahul will captain India in the ODIs against South Africa.
New Delhi: Senior wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul has been named captain of India’s ODI team for the three-match series against South Africa, starting November 30. This series will also see the return of Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, and Ruturaj Gaikwad to the 50-over setup.
IANS had earlier reported on Sunday that Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer were unavailable due to neck and spleen injuries and were recovering under specialist care in Mumbai, so the leadership responsibility was split between Rahul and Pant.
IANS has learned that Rahul’s first-choice ODI captaincy meant he was named India’s captain for the series against the Proteas ahead of Pant, who is captaining India in the ongoing second Test in Guwahati. Rahul captained India 12 times in ODIs from 2022 to 2023. He was also the captain when India defeated South Africa 2-1 in the 50-over series in 2023.
Meanwhile, Pant is also returning to the ODI team. He missed last month’s series against Australia, where India lost 2-1, due to a fracture in his right foot. In Gill’s absence, Yashasvi Jaiswal retains his place and could open alongside Rohit Sharma against the Proteas.
But he will face stiff competition from Gaikwad, who has been in excellent form recently, scoring a century and a half-century in the three-match 50-over series against South Africa ‘A’ in Rajkot.
Left-handed batsman Tilak Varma is also making a comeback, having played his last ODI in December 2023, while Dhruv Jurel retains his place. It will be interesting to see who among Pant, Varma, and Rahul can bat at number four in Iyer’s absence.
Veteran spin-bowling all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who missed the three-match ODI series in Australia, has been included in the squad for this series in place of Axar Patel, who is expected to play in the five-match T20I series that follows.
With Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj rested, India’s fast bowling options for this series are Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and seam-bowling all-rounders Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy, especially with Hardik Pandya undergoing rehab for his quadriceps injury. The three ODIs between India and South Africa will be held in Ranchi (November 30), Raipur (December 3), and Visakhapatnam (December 6).
India’s squad: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (captain and wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Dhruv Jurel
