Senior batter KL Rahul was on Sunday named India’s captain for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa, while veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returned to white-ball set-up after an eight-month hiatus. Rahul was handed the reins of the team after regular skipper Shubman Gill was ruled out of the series due to a neck injury that he sustained during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata. Rahul has been given the captaincy with the short-term goal of the South Africa series in mind.
“Rahul’s captaincy is one off and should be seen in isolation. Rishabh (Pant) wasn’t considered as he has played only one ODI game in the last one year. The selectors expect that Shubman Gill’s neck injury will heal and he will be back against New Zealand (3 ODIs in January 2026),” a BCCI source revealed on condition of anonymity The series will begin on November 30 in Ranchi followed by matches in Raipur (December 3) and Visakhapatnam (December 6).
Jadeja, whose last ODI appearance came against New Zealand in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai earlier in March, returned to the mix, primarily because left-arm spin all-rounder Axar Patel has been rested for this series.
Axar, who was a part of India’s recent white ball tour to Australia, was rested from the ODIs against the Proteas.
The 31-year-old was also a part of the four-pronged spin attack that India fielded against South Africa in the Eden Gardens Test along with Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar and Jadeja.
Both Kuldeep and Sundar have been included in the one-day squad.
However, premier pacer Jasprit Bumrah needs to wait for sometime for his ODI return after donning the blue jersey in the 2023 World Cup final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
The 31-year-old is currently playing in the Test series against South Africa and has been accorded a rest as per his workload management plan.
Bumrah, though, played in the five-match T20I series against Australia, and he was also a part of the national team that participated in the Asia Cup in Dubai, the two-match home Test series against the West Indies.
