Overview:
The Men in Blue will host the Proteas for a three-match ODI series. The series opener will be played on November 30 in Ranchi, followed by the second game on December 3 in Raipur. The third and final game will be contested in Visakhapatnam on December 6.
Mohammad Kaif has picked Shubman Gill’s replacement as captain for the ODI series against South Africa. Gill suffered a neck injury in the first innings of the series opener against the Proteas in Kolkata.
He didn’t take part in the remainder of the contest and was admitted to the Woodlands Multispeciality Hospital. While he has been discharged, he is likely to be out of the second Test in Assam. There is a possibility of him missing the ODI series as well.
Kaif said the BCCI will not go back to Rohit Sharma. He thinks KL Rahul will be the captain, as vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is also out due to injury.
“They will not go back to Rohit Sharma, and he will say no himself. KL Rahul is one of the options. He has led in the past and has experience. I feel he will lead India in the ODI series,” he said.
The Men in Blue will host the Proteas for a three-match ODI series. The series opener will be played on November 30 in Ranchi, followed by the second game on December 3 in Raipur. The third and final game will be contested in Visakhapatnam on December 6.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Kaif is backing Sai Sudharsan to replace Shubman Gill in the second Test against the Temba Bavuma-led team. He was dropped from the Kolkata Test to include four spinners in the Playing XI.
The southpaw scored 126 runs across both innings against the West Indies in the Delhi Test, but the team management excluded him against South Africa.
“Sundar was promoted in the batting order because there were many left-handers down the order. The left-handers are being favoured a lot in this team. I feel specialist batters should play on these pitches as they have better chances of scoring runs. The pitch in Guwahati will be a turning track. You should play on tracks where batters can score runs. We have bowlers who can take wickets in all conditions,” he concluded.