KL Rahul will captain India in the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa with Shubman Gill yet to recover from the neck injury he picked up during the Kolkata Test. The series begins on November 30, with matches in Ranchi, Raipur, and Visakhapatnam.
Rishabh Pant makes a notable return to the ODI squad for the first time since August 2024, joining as the second wicketkeeper. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj both have rested to manage workloads, while Shreyas Iyer continues his recovery from a lacerated spleen. Hardik Pandya, still in the final phase of rehab from a quad injury, remains unavailable.
Tilak Varma earns another middle-order opportunity with Shreyas sidelined, competing alongside Pant for game time in a line-up that features Virat Kohli, Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja. Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to open with Rohit Sharma in Gill’s absence, with Ruturaj Gaikwad named as the reserve opener following his strong India A series.
Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna and Harshit Rana form the pace attack for the series, with Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar offering all-round options. Dhruv Jurel has been added as middle-order backup.
India’s refreshed ODI squad now looks to balance rotation, recovery, and opportunity as they prepare for the South Africa challenge.
India’s ODI squad for South Africa series:
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
