The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the hosts’ squad for the upcoming three 50-over fixtures against South Africa, starting on November 30 in Ranchi. Star India player KL Rahul has been elected as the skipper of India for the IND vs SA ODIs in the absence of the usual captain, Shubman Gill.
Notably, Gill has been sidelined from the white-ball series due to his severe neck injury. Previously, he had left the field after facing just three balls in the IND vs SA Test series opener in Kolkata. Though the 26-year-old had travelled to Guwahati for the second match after receiving treatment in the hospital, he was later released from the squad to attain further medical attention.
But the batter is expected to make a comeback in the subsequent five T20Is facing the Proteas, kicking off on December 9 in Cuttack. Apart from Gill, India’s vice-captain Shreyas Iyer would also miss participating in the three-match rubber. He is yet to fully recover from the rib injury sustained during the Australia ODIs.
However, three Indian stars, including KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel, were in contention to lead the national side in the ODI series. But ultimately, the selectors decided KL Rahul to take up the role for the forthcoming limited-over fixtures.
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The Men in Blue are coming on the back of a 2-1 ODI series defeat in Australia. But they would be hoping to register a turnaround in the format, riding on the momentum of a thumping nine-wicket victory in the final fixture.
The series would also note two former Indian skipper Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s return to action. The last time the two stalwarts had donned the Indian blue, they had notched up an unbeaten, match-winning partnership of 168 runs, avoiding an embarrassing maiden 50-over whitewash of India on Australian soil.
Notably, this would also be the star pair’s first appearance at home since the England series in February 2025. The inclusion of Kohli and Rohit would strengthen the hosts’ side. Moreover, India would also enter the ODI encounters after claiming the last two 50-over series against the opposition.
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (C) (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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