India will play three ODIs against South Africa, at Ranchi on November 30, at Raipur on December 3, and at at Visakhapatnam from December 6.
India squad for South Africa ODIs
KL Rahul (c & wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh
Who are certain to play?
Rohit at the top, Kohli at three, stand-in captain Rahul at five (or four or six) are certain starters. India like their all-rounders, even more so in the Gautam Gambhir era, so Sundar and Jadeja are certain to start.
There is no Jasprit Bumrah or Mohammed Siraj (or Mohammed Shami), which gives India the ideal opportunity to test their fast bowlers, who will certainly play a key role in the next World Cup, in South Africa in 2027. Of them, Arshdeep should be the likeliest starter.
Despite Rohit’s brilliance at the top, there have been murmurs around the selectors backing him with the World Cup two years away. Part of that is because Jaiswal has been restricted to a solitary ODI till date. Jaiswal has demonstrated his class in Test cricket, has an excellent record in both T20Is and the IPL, and averages 52.62 and strikes at 86 in List A cricket. He is certain to succeed in ODIs – if he gets that break.
Shubman Gill’s injury has enabled Jaiswal three ODIs to make a case in this series (though he may have to wait if both Rohit and Gill are fit).
1st ODI, India vs South Africa
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Who bats at two-down?
Jaiswal, Rohit, Kohli, Rahul, Sundar, Jadeja, and Arshdeep leave four spots. One of these is at No.4, a position left temporarily vacant because of vice-captain Shreyas Iyer’s injury. There are four candidates for that spot.
After an indifferent start, Pant’s ODI career was about to take off (average 44.63, strike rate 109 across 2021 and 2022) when he had that horrific accident. He has played a lone ODI since his return.
But if the 2027 World Cup is the plan, the younger, less injury-prone Jurel is at least as good an option. Jurel was ahead in the pecking order as well: while he is yet to play an ODI, he was picked for the ODIs in Australia ahead of Pant.
Gaikwad and Tilak are capped ODI cricketers, but neither has played since the start of 2024. Among these, the younger Tilak is likelier to play on three counts. One, Gaikwad is primarily an opener (where the competition is too strong). Two, unlike most Indian batters, Tilak can chip in with a few overs (this probably puts him ahead of Jurel as well – though India will want a second keeper in the squad). Three, the fact that he led India A against South Africa A earlier this month probably indicates the selectors back him in this format.
Will Nitish Kumar Reddy play?
Since well before the 2023 World Cup, India’s ODI XI has largely followed the same structure: five batters (including one who keeps wicket), three all-rounders, and three specialist bowlers. The plan went haywire when Axar Patel got injured before and Hardik Pandya during the World Cup, but whenever possible, India have stuck to this blueprint.
Axar’s mysterious absence (are India rotating their all-rounders?) from the squadmakes Reddy a likely choice in the XI along with Jadeja and Sundar, though it must be acknowledged here that he is not quite in the Pandya level in either department. It is unlikely that India will leave him out for a specialist bowler (though they may count on Tilak being the sixth bowler and play the extra batter).
Who will be the bowlers?
With Arshdeep and the three all-rounders already pencilled in, there is still room for two bowlers. This is likely to depend on the surface. If it is likely to assist spin, Kuldeep will be one of the two. Among the two fast bowlers, the current team management has shown affinity towards Rana, presumably for his batting.
On the other hand, if it is a featherbed, India may go in with both Rana and Prasidh.
India’s predicted XI for the first ODI against South Africa
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (c & wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav/Prasidh Krishna
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