India name ODI squad for South Africa series; Shikar Dhawan to lead

India have handed maiden call-ups to Mukesh Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi and Rajat Patidar in their ODI squad for the three-match series. 
 
Shikhar Dhawan?width=963&height=541&resizemode=4

The selectors have named an alternate squad missing India's T20 World Cup players for the three ODIs part of the Super League. 

Shikhar Dhawan will be captaining an alternate ODI squad named on Sunday (October 2) for India's three-match ODI series against South Africa. 

The selectors have handed maiden ODI call-ups to Bengal pacer Mukesh Kumar and Madhya Pradesh batter Rajat Patidar. Young wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi, an integral part of the T20I set-up, is another first time inclusion in the 50-over squad. 

Patidar has earned his selection on the basis of strong consistent performances this year for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the IPL 2022 and India A. The batter was one of RCB's biggest positives for the season, making his 333 runs from eight innings at a strike-rate of 152.75 while averaging 55.50. Patidar's season tally included a match-winning ton in the Eliminator against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). 

He backed that up with an impressive run for India A against a visiting New Zealand side. The 29-year-old smashed two hundreds in his four innings during the unofficial Test series and then carried a strike-rate of 112.05 in the one-day series that followed. Patidar's List A record isn't the most impressive but the selectors have backed the right-hander's promise and talent displayed during the IPL for RCB. 

Patidar, Mukesh Kumar part of squad for South Africa ODIs

Kumar is the other first-timer part of India's ODI squad. The Bengal seamer has been in excellent form with the ball since the start of the domestic season. The right-arm pacer took a five-fer in his tally of nine wickets during the unofficial Test series against New Zealand A and backed that up with a superlative first-innings outing in the Irani Trophy game against Saurashtra, bagging figures of 4/23. 

The 28-year-old's selection is purely based on his form in first-class cricket since his List A record doesn't give an encouraging reading: from his 18 games, the pacer has taken 17 wickets at 44 per piece while conceding 5.17 runs an over. 

Patidar and Mukesh, however, aren't the only ones yet to make their ODI debut for India, with the list also featuring Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rahul Tripathi and Bishnoi in what happens to be a squad similar to the one that took on West Indies and Zimbabwe in August when the main team players rested. 

The three-match ODI series starting October 6 is part of the ICC Super League, which acts as a direct qualification event for the 2023 World Cup in India. As hosts, India are already qualified but South Africa are vying for one of the eight direct slots at the main event. 

India squad for South Africa series: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubhman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar