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KL Rahul was appointed captain as India announced their 15-man squad for the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa. Rahul was handed over captaincy in the absence of regular skipper Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer, both of whom have been ruled out due to respective injury issues.
While Gill has sustained a neck injury, which is expected to keep him out of action for a while, Iyer is still recovering after undergoing a minor procedure for a spleen injury that he suffered during India's tour of Australia last month. With the captain and vice-captain unavailable, the selectors and the team management decided to name Rahul as the stand-in skipper.
Rishabh Pant, who is currently leading India in the ongoing 2nd Test against South Africa at the Barsapara Stadium in Guwahati, was reportedly also in contention for captaincy after Gill's injury. However, he was not considered due to a major reason.
A BCCI source revealed to PTI that Pant was not considered for captaincy as he has played only one ODI match for India in the last year. Pant was not part of India's ODI series against Australia last month as he was recovering from a foot injury suffered during the England Test series earlier this year.
“Rahul’s captaincy is a 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)," the BCCI source was quoted as saying by PTI.
The Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel have made multiple changes in India's ODI squad for the upcoming series against South Africa. Tilak Varma and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been recalled into the side, while Ravindra Jadeja is back in place of Axar Patel. Jasprit Bumrah has been rested, and senior pacer Mohammed Shami continues to be ignored.
Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar are the other two all-rounders in the side, as Hardik Pandya continues to remain on the sidelines. Yashasvi Jaiswal is also part of the squad and is likely to open with Rohit in the absence of skipper Gill. Dhruv Jurel has also been included as a specialist batter with Pant and Rahul the two wicket-keeper batters in the team.
