KL Rahul has been appointed as the captain for the upcoming IND vs SA ODI series starting on November 30 while Shubman Gill continues to recover from the neck injury he suffered in the first Test in Kolkata. Rahul will take the lead as captain and will also be donning the gloves as wicketkeeper.
Rishabh Pant Back in ODI Setup
A major highlight of the squad is the return of Rishabh Pant, selected as the second wicketkeeper. Pant last played an ODI in August 2024 and re-enters the format after recovering full match fitness.
Bumrah, Siraj Rested; Iyer and Hardik Still in Recovery
Jasprit Bumrah has been rested after a hectic season during which he played in four home Tests, the T20 Asia Cup, and the ODI series in Australia. Mohammed Siraj too has been given a break after featuring in each of the four recent home Tests.
Injury Updates: Shreyas Iyer and Hardik Pandya
Shreyas Iyer continues to recover from a lacerated spleen and was not named in the squad. Hardik Pandya is at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, going through the final stages of rehabilitation for his quadriceps injury. He will turn out for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy starting November 26 and might be considered for the T20Is against South Africa depending upon his progress.
Tilak Varma Gets Middle-order Opportunity
With Shreyas unavailable, Tilak Varma earns a spot in the middle order. Tilak recently figured in the one-day series against South Africa A at Rajkot. He has so far appeared in four ODIs and is a regular in India’s T20I squad.
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He could be contesting for the No. 5/6 position with Pant, possibly supported by established names like Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and Ravindra Jadeja. The other allrounders are Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy. Axar Patel misses out on selection.
Opening Options: Jaiswal to Join Forces with Rohit; Gaikwad on Standby
With Shubman Gill being rested, Yashasvi Jaiswal is most likely to open along with Rohit Sharma in the IND vs SA ODI series. Gaikwad comes in as the back-up opener following good form for India A, having scored 117, 68* and 25 in their 2-1 series win over South Africa A.
Bowling Unit: New-look Pace Attack
With Bumrah and Siraj rested, India will be banking on a younger pace battery comprising:
Arshdeep Singh
Prasidh Krishna
Harshit Rana
The squad also includes Kuldeep Yadav as the main spinner, while Dhruv Jurel has been added as a backup middle-order option.
Series Schedule
The three-match IND vs SA ODI series will be played on:
November 30 – Ranchi
December 3 – Raipur
December 6 – Visakhapatnam
India’s ODI Squad for South Africa Series Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (capt & wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel
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