KL Rahul file photo
Credit: PTI photo
India's pencilled one-day international wicketkeeper KL Rahul has been named the stand-in captain for the upcoming ODI series against South Africa with regular skipper Shubman Gill out with a neck injury that he sustained during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata.
The Indian selectors on Sunday announced a 15-member squad for the three ODI matches beginning on November 30 in Ranchi, that also saw Rishabh Pant and Ravindra Jadeja return to the mix after a long hiatus.
Pant, who last played in the 50-over format during the tour of Sri Lanka in August 2024, is expected to blood into the middle-order that is without vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, who is still recovering from a spleen injury, suffered in the Sydney ODI in October.
Veteran all-rounder Jadeja, whose last appearance in the format was during India's triumphant Champions Trophy campaign in March, was called-up with like-to-like Axar Patel getting a rest.
Tilak Varma also makes a return to the ODI squad, having last played on the tour of South Africa in 2023. The 23-year-old has been rewarded for his good show in the Asia Cup and could be set for a middle-order role.
Mohammed Siraj, along with fellow quick Jasprit Bumrah, will sit out of the series with an eye on workload management, having featured in the home Tests against West Indies and the Proteas.
However, the Indian pace stocks will be guarded by Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana as the frontline quicks, with all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy as the second line of defence.
Having last featured in an ODI in Gqeberha in 2023, Ruturaj Gaikwad won the selectors' trust on the back of some impressive performances in India A colours against South Africa A.
India all-rounder Hardik Pandya continues to be unavailable for selection and is currently undergoing rehab at the BCCI's Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru.
However, the 32-year-old is set to feature for Baroda in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy that gets underway from November 26 and could be in line for an India selection for the five-match T20I rubber against South Africa that gets underway from December 9 in Cuttack.
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.