India National Cricket Team stand-in ODI captain, KL Rahul, has all but confirmed the selection of the star batter Ruturaj Gaikwad and superstar wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant in the playing XI against South Africa.
Team India and Team South Africa are all set to lock horns in a three-match ODI series. The ODI series will be hosted by the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi on Sunday, November 30.
The next two matches will be played at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Ranchi and the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday, December 3, and on Saturday, December 6.
Rahul has been appointed as the skipper of Team India for the ODI series against the Proteas. This happened because captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain have been ruled out with their respective injuries.
The exit of the two first-choice players from the playing XI means that the fresh names will get the opportunity against the South Africa National Cricket Team.
Shubman Gill might be replaced by Yashasvi Jaiswal at the top order, while Shreyas Iyer's No.4 could be taken by Rishabh Pant, Tilak Varma, or Ruturaj Gaikwad.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, KL Rahul hinted that Rishabh Pant is likely to be a starter in the playing XI, and he might keep wickets as well.
"For Rishabh, he is good enough to play as a specialist batter but we will see tomorrow. We are still discussing the playing XI, we will finalise this evening. Rishabh missed out (from ODIs) due to injuries, we know what he brings to the team. You will know tomorrow but if he plays he will take the gloves," Rahul said, as quoted by RevSportz and PTI.
Ruturaj Gaikwad is a phenomenal player - KL Rahul
Ruturaj Gaikwad has played 23 T20Is and 6 ODIs for India, with his last appearance in ODI cricket coming on December 19, 2023, in Gqeberha, and his last T20I outing was against Zimbabwe in Harare on July 13, 2024.
He has now staged his India comeback on the back of his heroics for India A against South Africa A, as he slammed 210 runs in the recent series.
While talking about Gaikwad, KL Rahul lauded the right-hander and said that they are looking forward to giving him an opportunity in the upcoming series. He stated:
"Ruturaj Gaikwad is a phenomenal player. The dynamics of our ODI top 5-6 is such, it is very settled. But he has done well in whatever limited opportunities he has had. Looking forward to giving him the opportunity in this series."
Can't give a definitive answer - KL Rahul
KL Rahul further opened up on the struggles of the Indian batters against the Proteas spinners in the Test series, which led to the hosts suffering a humiliating clean sweep. He said:
"Can't give a definitive answer, but we recognise that we didn't play well. It won't happen overnight; there are a lot of reasons. How can we individually get better? What technical changes can we make? We can seek answers individually."
Also Read: Rahul Dravid namedropped as Kapil Dev attacks Gautam Gambhir’s India following whitewash to South Africa
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