KL Rahul to lead 15-man ODI Squad Announced for the Home Series Against South Africa

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-man squad for the upcoming 3-match ODI series against South Africa, slated to kick off on November 30. With regular skipper Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer not being available for selection owing to injuries, senior wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul was appointed the skipper for the three-match series.

KL Rahul to lead Team India in the ODI series against South Africa

KL Rahul has been named the stand-in skipper of Team India for the ODI series against South Africa. This comes after regular skipper Shubman Gill, who was appointed as India’s ODI skipper in the previous ODI series against Australia down under, got injured while batting in the first Test against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata. While hitting a sweep shot for a four in the first innings of the Kolkata Test, Gill hurt his neck and walked out of the field. He didn’t return for the rest of the game and was taken to the hospital for a scan. The 26-year-old right-hander is currently in Mumbai for an assessment of his injury.

With both Gill and ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer unavailable for selection, the selectors had to choose a skipper between KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and former skipper Rohit Sharma. The management has put their money on senior wicket-keeper batter KL Rahul.

Team India Squad for ODI series vs South Africa

Here’s how the 15-man squad looks.

KL Rahul (C/WK), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel (WK)

Key Takeaways from the squad announced

• KL Rahul appointed skipper in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill, who is ruled out of the series due to injury.
• ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is also nursing an injury he sustained while fielding in Australia. He also remains unavailable.
• Senior pros Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have held their spots.
• Rishabh Pant has returned to the ODI fold after a long time. He last played an ODI back in 2024 against Sri Lanka at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo.
• Dhruv Jurel retains his spot despite Pant’s inclusion in the side.
• Hardik Pandya continues to rehab and will be missing this series as well. Nitish Kumar Reddy retains his spot in the squad as the pace bowling all-rounder.
• In Gill’s absence, Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to open the innings alongside senior pro Rohit Sharma. Jaiswal has been named in the ODI side after quite some time.
• Ruturaj Gaikwad has returned to the ODI squad as the backup opener.
• India’s ODI no. 5 Axar Patel has been shown the exit door without any reason. Senior all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has taken his place.
• Also, Tilak Varma will look to add to his four ODI caps, as he has been recalled to the side.
• Mohammad Siraj has been dropped from the ODI squad yet again after featuring in the previous away series in Australia.
• Jasprit Bumrah has been rested yet again for workload management.
• Gambhir’s favorite, Harshit Rana, is among the only three pacers named in the squad. Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna are the other two.
• Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, and Kuldeep Yadav are the spin bowling trio.

India’s Best Possible XI for this series

As the squad has been announced, let’s take a look at what could be Team India’s best possible eleven for this three-match ODI series against South Africa.

• Rohit Sharma
• Yashasvi Jaiswal
• Virat Kohli
• Rishabh Pant (WK)
• KL Rahul (C)
• Tilak Varma/Dhruv Jurel
• Washington Sundar
• Ravindra Jadeja
• Harshit Rana
• Kuldeep Yadav
• Arshdeep Singh

The first of the three ODIs will be played on November 30 in Ranchi, followed by games in Raipur and Vizag on December 3 & 6.