KL Rahul is poised to make a comeback as India's ODI captain for the upcoming series against South Africa, marking his return to the leadership role after two years. This development comes as Shubman Gill is likely to be sidelined due to a neck injury.
Gill's injury, sustained during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata, has proven to be more serious than initially assessed. After attempting a slog-sweep, he clutched his neck in discomfort and was later stretchered off the field. Medical evaluations, including consultation with a spine specialist and an MRI in Mumbai, revealed a nerve injury that requires extensive rest and rehabilitation. Consequently, Gill was ruled out of the second Test in Guwahati and is expected to miss the entire ODI series. It's likely he will only return to action next year against New Zealand. The team management is prioritizing Gill's full recovery, especially with the T20 World Cup approaching in February-March.
With Gill unavailable and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer also recovering from a rib cage injury, the selectors are turning to KL Rahul to lead the ODI side. The last time Rahul captained India in any format was in December 2023, also against South Africa.
The three-match ODI series against South Africa is scheduled to begin on November 30 in Ranchi, followed by matches on December 3 in Raipur and December 6 in Visakhapatnam.
In the absence of Shubman Gill, the selection focus shifted to finding a suitable captain. KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant emerged as the frontrunners for the role. While Pant has been in good form in T20Is since his return, his limited recent ODI game time was a factor. Ultimately, KL Rahul was chosen to lead the side.
KL Rahul has previously captained India in 12 ODIs, winning nine of those matches. As captain, he has scored 302 runs at an average of 33.55 with four fifties.
The selection meeting to finalize the ODI squad for the South Africa series is scheduled for today in Mumbai. The squad is expected to be announced soon.
There are reports that the selectors are considering Abhishek Sharma and a pace attack featuring Akash Deep, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh for the series. Jasprit Bumrah is expected to be rested, and Hardik Pandya may not be available due to his ongoing recovery from a quadriceps injury. Kuldeep Yadav may also take a break for personal reasons.
