Gill sidelined, Rahul to lead India in SA ODIs

KL Rahul was on Sunday named captain for India’s upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, with Ravindra Jadeja returning to the white-ball set-up after an eight-month gap.

Rahul takes charge with regular skipper Shubman Gill ruled out due to a neck injury suffered during the first Test in Kolkata. His captaincy is a short-term arrangement. “Rahul’s captaincy is one off and should be seen in isolation. Rishabh Pant wasn’t considered as he has played only one ODI in the last year. The selectors expect Gill to return for the New Zealand series in January,” a BCCI source informed.

The ODIs will be played in Ranchi (Nov 30), Raipur (Dec 3) and Visakhapatnam (Dec 6).

Jadeja, who last played an ODI in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai in March, returns as Axar Patel has been rested. Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar, who featured in the recent Eden Gardens Test, remain part of the ODI squad.

Premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been rested as part of workload management. He last played an ODI in the 2023 World Cup final in Ahmedabad. Mohammed Siraj, too, has been given a break after the two Tests against South Africa.

With Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer recovering, Yashasvi Jaiswal may get an opportunity to partner Rohit Sharma at the top. Jaiswal was part of the squad against Australia but did not get a game.

Virat Kohli, who has stepped away from Tests and T20Is, remains in ODI contention, reuniting with Rohit in the “RoKo” pairing.

Ruturaj Gaikwad returns after strong performances for India A in the unofficial ODI series against South Africa A in Rajkot, where he scored 117, 68* and 25. His last ODI also came against South Africa in 2023.

The pace attack will be led by Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy.

India’s ODI squad: 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.