K Rahul to lead India in ODI series against S Africa; Ravindra Jadeja also returns; Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya to miss out
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced Team India for the ODI series against South Africa. KL Rahul returns as India’s ODI captain after a two-year gap, while Shubman Gill will miss the series due to a neck injury.
Gill’s injury is more serious than first believed and has disrupted India's preparations. Team India aims to build strong combinations ahead of next year's T20 World Cup. ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has also sidelined due to a rib injury. Asthe selectors wanted stability and experience in leadership they turned to Rahul.
Ravindra Jadeja was not picked for the Australia ODIs despite his willingness to continue in the format. But Jadeja has been picked in the team although there is no place for Axar Patel.
Besides, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have also not been named in the squad and are likely rested, given India's immediate focus on the T20 World Cup 2026.
South Africa’s Tour of India, 2025 (ODI Series)
The first match of the 3-match series will be played in Ranchi on November 30, second match in Raipur on December 3 and the third match in Visakhapatnam on December 6.
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
Prakash Kumar Pandey