India ODI Squad SA: KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah vice captain- India’s newest ODI skipper Rohit Sharma has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against South Africa, starting January 19. KL Rahul, who is the deputy of the white-ball team, has been named the captain in his absence. The Chetan Sharma-led selection committee met today to pick the team. Jasprit Bumrah was named the vice-captain for the series. Follow IND vs SA Live Updates on InsideSport.IN.
Rohit Sharma, who was ruled out of the three-match Test series against South Africa due to a hamstring injury, is set yet to recover fully. Although he passed the preliminary test, he is yet to appear for the final.
“Rohit is not fit, he is in rehab. We never wanted to take chance with him. We are looking to groom KL Rahul. He has proved his leadership qualities. KL is the best one who can handle the side,” BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said.
India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
“Rohit is close to recovery. But we don’t want to rush his return. He is an important player. He did clear the initial fitness test at NCA. But we are still waiting for him to be at his 100%,” a source close to the development told InsideSport on Thursday.
ODI team for South Africa ODI series:
KL Rahul (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj.
India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
Earlier, InsideSport reported that the team selection meeting was postponed to after the first Test against South Africa. As Team India have already sealed their victory, the selectors expect to get the selection done by December 31.
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India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
IND vs SA ODI: Selectors concerned about Rohit Sharma’s fitness
Rohit Sharma along with has been doing his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) but it could still take some time for the Indian captain to regain full fitness. Apart from Rohit Sharma, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Yuzvendra Chahal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also at the NCA to regain fitness before the South Africa tour.
Earlier, the selection meeting was supposed to be held just after Vijay Hazare Trophy but it got pushed back only to ensure that Rohit gets a chance to pass the fitness test. In case Rohit is not fit in time for the ODIs, KL Rahul will be leading India for the first time in a bilateral series.
However, selectors are concerned about Rohit Sharma’s ongoing fitness issues. That is the reason he was rested for the entire series.
“We want Rohit Sharma to be completely fit. We have asked him to work on his muscle issues as we have a World Cup in 2022 and many important white-ball series,” Chetan Sharma said.
India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
Ravichandran Ashwin set for ODI return – Meanwhile, both Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel are unavailable for selections. Both were declared injured before the test series & are yet to recover completely. The duo’s unavailability has opened the door for R Ashwin to make an ODI comeback after four years while Yuzvendra Chahal has also returned to the ODI side.
India ODI Squad SA: Ashwin ready for a comeback in Indian ODI Team, check why?
India ODI Team Selection – Who made the cut?
- Venkatesh Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad are the two youngsters who as predicted by InsideSport will be part of the ODI squad on the basis of their performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
- Yuzvendra Chahal and Shikhar Dhawan also returned to the squad.
- Amongst spin-allrounders, Ravichandran Ashwin made a return to the ODI side after four years.
- Washington Sundar also made a return after an injury layoff. He did well in Vijay Hazare after recovering from injury.
India ODI Squad SA: Unfit Rohit Sharma out of South Africa ODI series, KL Rahul to lead, Bumrah deputy- Follow Live Updates
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