Shubman Gill out, KL Rahul steps up as ODI captain; Kohli, Rohit back for long-awaited home comeback vs South Africa

The series will also mark the long-awaited return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on home soil for the first time since February

India's regular ODI captain Shubman Gill was ruled out on Sunday, with KL Rahul asked to step in as skipper for the upcoming three-match series against South Africa starting November 30 at home. The series will also mark the long-awaited return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma on home soil for the first time since India’s February–March series against England.

Injured Shubman Gill has been ruled out of the ODIs(AFP)

Gill, who suffered whiplash while batting in the opening Test in Kolkata, was earlier rested for the ongoing second Test in Guwahati. It is yet to be seen if he returns for the five match T20I series against the Proteas, which will begin on December 9. The 25-year-old is currently in Mumbai undergoing medical tests, including an MRI, to assess the damage.

Shreyas Iyer, the designated vice-captain, has also been ruled out of the series after sustaining an injury and undergoing surgery in Australia. With both senior options unavailable, the selectors were forced to choose a stopgap leader. Rishabh Pant was also a viable option but was not considered, given that he hasn’t played an ODI in more than a year, his last appearance came against Sri Lanka, and he was an unused member of India’s Champions Trophy squad earlier this year. The selectors instead opted for Rahul, who has captained India 12 times in the format.

With Gill unavailable, Yashasvi Jaiswal, the backup opener in Australia last month, will partner Rohit, while Ruturaj Gaikwad, who has been in an impressive form in domestic cricket and for India A, has been picked as the reserve opener. Gaikwad, who last played in an ODI game two years back, recently notched up 117, 68* and 25 during India A's 2-1 series win.

All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, who was left out of the three ODIs in Australia withs speculations that he is no longer in the scheme of things for the 2027 World Cup, returned to the squad in place of Axar Patel, while Hardik Pandya, who last played in the Asia Cup in September, and is still undergoing rehab for a quadriceps injury, has been ruled out of the contest.

Other notable changes from the squad that toured Australia include the absence of Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah, who were rested after playing back-to-back Tests. Prasidh Krishna was picked instead and will join Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh in the pace attack. Mohammed Shami has been overlooked yet again.

In the spin department, Varun Chakravarthy was not picked, leaving Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Washington Sundar to lead the group.

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.