India’s ODI Squad for South Africa tour 2021, KL Rahul to lead: In a major development, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) handed over captaincy reins of the One Day International (ODI) team to KL Rahul for the three matches ODI series against South Africa, starting January 19th.
India’s New white-ball captain, Rohit Sharma, will miss the tour as he failed to recover and prove himself fit in the fitness test held at NCA. Sharma, ahead of the South Africa tour, sustained a hamstring injury owing to which he couldn’t take part in the test series and now he has been ruled out of the ODI series as well.
“Rohit is still not fully fit, he is in rehab. We never wanted to take a chance with him if he is not 100% fit,” Chetan Sharma said in a press conference.
“We are looking at KL Rahul as a three-format player, and he has got good experience of captaincy. He has proved his leadership qualities. That is what all selectors think. When Rohit is not fit, we thought KL is the best one to handle the side. We have good confidence in him, and we are grooming him,” he added.
BCCI on Friday announced an 18-men strong Indian squad for the three One Dayers against South Africa.
While KL Rahul is set to lead the team, pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been elevated to the role of team India’s ODI vice-captain for the series.
ALSO READ: IPL 2022 Mega Auction: IPL 2022 Retained Players for MI, CSK, RCB, KKR, PBKS, RR, SRH, DC
All-rounder Vanketesh Iyer has received a maiden call-up after his stellar exploits in the IPL 2021 and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shikhar Dhawan and Ishan Kishan are three other openers included in the team besides KL Rahul.
Mohammad Shami is given rest in order to manage his workload. The pacer is currently part of India’s Test squad against South Africa.
Seasoned off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was only one format player at the start of 2021, has now become an all-format cricketer as he is also named in the ODI squad. It is noteworthy that Ashwin made a comeback in the shortest format during the recent ICC T20 World Cup 2021.
Former Indian skipper, Virat Kohli is available for the ODI series and will provide his valuable contributions with his willow.
India’s ODI squad for South Africa tour 2021:
KL Rahul (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, R Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Md. Siraj
South Africa vs India ODI schedule:
First ODI: January 19, Paarl
Second ODI: January 21, Paarl
Third ODI: January 23, Cape Town
ALSO READ: IPL 2022 Mega Auction Details, 10 IPL Teams, New Rules: All you need to know