Subsequent to the current Test series, the India cricket team will face the South African team in a series of three ODIs on Indian soil. Shubman Gill’s first ODI captaincy for India was unfortunate, as Australia beat the visitors 2-1 in the Australian arena. However, the captain might have to push back the moment of clearing his name, as the neck injury that has come at an unfortunate time for him will prevent him from playing during the series against the Proteas.
The Blue team is planning to face the South Africa ODIs, here is a detailed analysis of their probable squad for the home series. But before that, let us check out their squad for the Australia tour.
India’s squad for Australia ODIs
Shubman Gill (C), Shreyas Iyer (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rohit Sharma, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer injured; who could be called as replacements?
Apart from Shubman Gill, the experienced cricketer Shreyas Iyer is another Indian player who is going through an injury. It seems that Gill’s rehabilitation would put him out of the South Africa series while Iyer would be reportedly staying out of playing due to his prolonged recovery from the horrible spleen injury.
Gaikwad certain to substitute Gill
As per the TOI, the BCCI selection committee may not hurry up in bringing back Gill and would instead allow him to join for the next T20I series. In such circumstances, the hosts would probably call back Ruturaj Gaikwad, with Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal being together as India’s premier openers.
Although Abhishek Sharma could only manage 74 runs with an average of 24.67, Gaikwad made it worth his while, thus playing a decisive role in the clinical series win of India-A. Therefore, considering his excellent form, the batter from Maharashtra will be the first choice for an ODI recall if Gill is not back on time.
Pant could be a sure thing, the other two being Tilak and Parag?
On the flip side, Rishabh Pant’s return to the ODI squad would not be a shock as he would be the one in contention to replace Shreyas Iyer, who is injured. In the 50-over format, Pant has scored 1209 runs with a phenomenal strike rate of 106.2 in 31 matches. Hence, if he gets in, Dhruv Jurel might be overlooked, with KL Rahul likely to be selected as India’s top keeper-batter.
There will be, however, a toss-up between Tilak Varma and Riyan Parag for the last batting slot. Tilak was inconsistent for India-A in their unofficial ODIs against South Africa and Australia, accumulating 176 runs in five innings. Conversely, Parag made headlines with his three consecutive fifties against Australia-A at a blistering strike rate of 123.84.
Ultimately, it will depend on India’s preference. If they are looking for a specialist batter, then Tilak may be chosen over Parag. But if the Indian brain trust is looking for a batter who can also bowl a few overs, then Riyan Parag fits the description perfectly.
Pandy, Bumrah very likely to be rested; Reddy might keep his place
According to the latest news, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah might be rested for a series against South Africa and India is looking at the option of managing their workload. So, even though Nitish Reddy underperformed in the Australia series, he might get one more opportunity to demonstrate his worth as an all-rounder. Alongside him, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are the probable candidates for spin-bowling all-rounders of India.
Kohli, Rohit, KL, Harshit and Kuldeep might be the ones in the core team of India.
The ODIs against South Africa would probably be the first time in a long while that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma would be on the field again as they would come back from touring Australia. In case of the unavailability of Gill, KL Rahul can be seen as the likely candidate to take over the captaincy of India’s ODI team, while the pacers Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and spinner Kuldeep Yadav can be the main bowlers.
Harshit was excellent in the India-A and South Africa-A series, which just finished, with a total of seven wickets taken at a cost of only 16.71 and a rate of 4.68. Also, Prasidh Krishna, who was pretty muted during the Australian tour, got back into the swing of things by taking five wickets and could possibly keep his spot in the ODI team.
India’s probable squad for South Africa ODIs consists of
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Riyan Parag/Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (WK), Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (WK), Rohit Sharma, Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna.
