NEW DELHI, Nov 23: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the ODI squad for the team’s upcoming three-match series against South Africa, starting November 30.
In the absence of the regular captain Shubman Gill who misses out due to a neck injury. KL Rahul has been given the responsibility to lead the side. Star wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant makes a return to India’s ODI squad, while Ruturaj Gaikwad has also been included in the team.
While there was no such mention of role for Pant in the BCCI press release, it is believed that he has been named the vice-captain. Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja is also back in India’s ODI team after missing the Australia tour.
India’s ODI squad vs 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.
Axar Patel, who was a part of India’s recent white ball tour to Australia, was rested from the ODIs against the Proteas. The 31-year-old was also a part of the four-pronged spin attack that India fielded against South Africa in the Eden Gardens Test along with Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja. Both Kuldeep and Sundar have been included in the one-day squad.
KL Rahul has been given the captaincy with the short-term goal of the South Africa series in mind, sources said. “Rahul’s captaincy is one off and should be seen in isolation. Rishabh (Pant) wasn’t considered as he has played only one ODI game in the last one year. The selectors expect that Shubman Gill’s neck injury will heal and he will be back against New Zealand (3 ODIs in January 2026),” a BCCI source said.
(Manas Dasgupta)