India ODI Squad for South Africa Series 2025 – Key Players & Updates

India will face South Africa in the three-match series starting November 30 in Ranchi. KL Rahul is the new captain of the Men in Blue after regular skipper Shubman Gill was ruled out due to a neck injury sustained in the first Test against the Proteas in Kolkata. Shreyas Iyer, who is the designated vice-captain, is also not available after suffering a rib injury in Australia.

The selectors have recalled Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rishabh Pant, and Ravindra Jadeja to the team, while Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will also return after competing against Australia. The two have retired from T20Is and Test cricket and are only active in the fifty-over format of the game.

Tilak Varma has been given another chance to prove himself in one-day internationals. Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, and Arshdeep Singh are the specialist pacers in the squad.

Key India players to watch out for

Rohit Sharma – The legendary batter will have the responsibility to give the team a flying start. He was magnificent in the last ODI series against Australia and scored a hundred and fifty. Rohit was named the Player of the Series for amassing over 200 runs in three games. In 276 ODIs, he has accumulated 11370 runs at an average of 49.22, laced with 33 hundreds and 59 fifties.

Virat Kohli – The best ODI batter of his generation is working hard to be among the top run-getters in the upcoming assignment. Virat Kohli returned to form after registering two consecutive ducks Down Under. He scored a fifty in the third and final contest against the Mitchell-Marsh-led team. The 37-year-old has been a part of 305 contests, scoring 14255 runs at an average of 57.71, with the help of 51 hundreds and 75 fifties.

KL Rahul – India’s stand-in captain will have to be at his best against South Africa. The right-handed batter had an ordinary Test series against the same opponent and needs runs to justify his selection. The 33-year-old has represented India in 88 ODIs, posting 3092 runs at an average of 48.31. KL Rahul has hit seven hundreds and 18 half-centuries.

Ravindra Jadeja: He was dropped from the team for the Australia series, but the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee recalled him for the games against South Africa. He will be a key player in the bowling and batting departments. The 36-year-old has managed 2806 runs and 231 wickets in 204 matches. He has taken two five-wicket hauls and hit 13 half-centuries.

Arshdeep Singh – The left-arm pacer will lead the attack in the absence of Bumrah and Siraj. The 25-year-old has been outstanding in T20Is but hasn’t played a lot of ODIs. In 11 games so far, he has picked up 17 wickets at an average of 23.17 and an economy rate of 5.21.

India’s ODI squad vs South Africa: 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