CHENNAI: With both the designated captain and vice-captain out of action due to injury, KL Rahul has once again been entrusted with the responsibility to lead India in the upcoming ODI series against South Africa. Rahul will captain in the absence of Gill who is out with a neck injury. The vice-captain from the Australia tour, Shreyas Iyer, is still recovering from the spleen injury he suffered Down Under.
While Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to come in for Gill and open with Rohit Sharma, the No 4 slot could be a toss up between Tilak Varma and Rishabh Pant, both of them back in the ODI set up after a while. Varma has played only four ODIs while Pant's last 50-over game for India came in August 2024. Ruturaj Gaikwad too has earned a call-up after the consistent show against South Africa A in the recent A-series at home, but he may have wait for his chance.
As far as the bowling attack is concerned, India have rested Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj for the series. Bumrah, however, is expected to play the T20Is that follow. Similarly, Hardik Pandya too has not been named but he is likely to turn up for Baroda in the first few rounds of the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and may come back for the shortest format.
From the larger viewpoint, the focus will once again remain on Rohit and Virat Kohli and how they go about their business. While chief selector Ajit Agarkar and team management have reiterated that every series is not a trial for them, the two senior batters know one bad series will lead to questions about their future. They set that aside with consistent performance Down Under even though India lost the series, and will be keen to get going at home and make a statement.
For Rahul, who has been India's go-to man when in trouble, it is yet another opportunity for him to do his bit as he always has done in the past. The last time he captained was in an ODI series against South Africa away from home shortly after the World Cup in 2023 and led them to a 2-1 win. These three matches are a chance for him to make a mark as a captain on the field, especially considering the fact that he is India's first-choice keeper and No 5 in the format.
The interesting aspect about this squad is presence of the two young left-handers — Jaiswal and Varma. The former has been waiting for a chance at the top and the team management will want him to do well considering the fact that the WC is two years away. The latter, who has the backing of head coach Gautam Gambhir and has done well in T20Is, too will backed to the hilt as the team management prefers left-handers and he is someone looked at as one for the future. How these two left-handers go could play a part in the way the team looks come the New Zealand ODIs before the T20 World Cup.
In the lower middle-order, it will be all about Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, who is back in the side, and Nitish Kumar Reddy. It will be interesting to see if Rahul plays as a specialist bat or field three all-rounders with Pant and Dhruv Jurel missing out. The pace attack sort of picks itself with at least two among Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna and Arshdeep Singh playing.
Although it seem like a series with little context, from an Indian squad-building point of view, there is a lot to unpack in the next couple of weeks. And therein lies the big picture.
India’s ODI squad: Rohit, Jaiswal, Kohli, Tilak, Rahul (C) (wk), Pant (wk), Washington, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Nitish, Harshit, Ruturaj, Prasidh, Arshdeep, Jurel