Not Rohit Sharma Or Shubman Gill ! This Star Player To Lead India In South Africa ODIs, Ruturaj Gaikwad Makes Comeback; Check Full Squad
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting on Sunday, November 30 in Ranchi.
The Indian side sees a shakeup as recently appointed ODI captain Shubman Gill got injured in the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is still recovering from an injury on India’s tour of Australia. In their absence, KL Rahul takes the reins of the side for the series, who last led India in 2023, when they beat South Africa 2-1 in an ODI series.
Meanwhile, the squad also sees the return of Ruturaj Gaikwad and Tilak Varma, who have been included in the team as India look to fill the void left by Shreyas Iyer in the middle order.
Both Ruturaj and Tilak last made an ODI appearance for India during their tour of South Africa in 2023. Gaikwad most recently shone for India A with scores of 117, 68 and 25 not out as India A secured a 2-1 series win against South Africa A.
Meanwhile, senior stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli continue to bolster the top order, with Yashasvi Jaiswal being a prime candidate to open the batting alongside India’s former skipper.
Rishabh Pant Finds Place Squad, Axar Patel Misses Out
Attacking wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant has also been named in the side, as he remains in contention to play his first ODI for India since the Tour of Sri Lanka in 2024, where India lost the ODI series 2-0. Pant is one of three wicket-keeper batters in the squad alongside stand-in skipper KL Rahul and Dhruv Jurel.
However, Axar Patel misses out as Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy make up for the all-rounders. Reddy most recently featured for India A against South Africa A, before joining the side for the second Test in Guwahati.
Meanwhile, in the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj are rested as Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh make up the pace attack.
Upon completing the three-match ODI series, India will gear up for a five-match T20I series against the Proteas as they prepare for the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup next year on home soil.
India’s ODI Squad For Series Against South Africa
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
India’s ODI Fixtures Against South Africa
November 30: 1st ODI, Ranchi
December 3: 2nd ODI, Raipur
December 6: 3rd ODI, Visakhapatnam
