Overview:
Rahul has led India in 12 ODIs in 2022-23 as a stand-in for then-skipper Rohit Sharma. Sharma and Virat Kohli return for the ODIs to be played in Ranchi (Nov. 30), Raipur (Dec. 3), and Visakhapatnam (Dec. 6). The two star batters are now retired from Test cricket and T20Is.
AP News – Shubman Gill will miss India’s three-match ODI series against South Africa starting Nov. 30, with KL Rahul to lead the side in his place.
Gill suffered a back spasm while batting in the first test at Kolkata, and missed out on the second test in Guwahati as well. He is undergoing treatment for a neck injury.
Rahul will stand in for Gill, who had only been named India’s ODI skipper in October for the series in Australia. Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is also unavailable as he recovers from a spleen injury sustained during the same Australian tour.
Rahul has led India in 12 ODIs in 2022-23 as a stand-in for then-skipper Rohit Sharma. Sharma and Virat Kohli return for the ODIs to be played in Ranchi (Nov. 30), Raipur (Dec. 3), and Visakhapatnam (Dec. 6). The two star batters are now retired from Test cricket and T20Is.
While Rahul is India’s first-choice keeper-batter in ODIs, Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel are also part of the ODI squad. Pant last played an ODI in August 2024. Yashasvi Jaiswal has also been included as opener in Gill’s absence – he made his ODI debut against England earlier in 2025.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya is also yet to recover from an injury sustained during the recent Asia Cup and misses out. Nitish Reddy is in the squad, while Ravindra Jadeja makes a comeback after missing out in Australia. Axar Patel has been left out.
Pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested after the ongoing two-test series. Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been recalled to the side.
Squad: Lokesh Rahul (captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel