Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer ruled out, KL Rahul to lead as India announce squad for ODI series against South Africa
Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer have been ruled out of India's upcoming ODI series against South Africa as BCCI announced the squad on Sunday. KL Rahul has been appointed captain in Gill's absence.
KL Rahul will replace injured Shubman Gill as captain in India's upcoming ODI series against South Africa. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced India's squad for the three-match series, which is set to get underway on November 30. ODI skipper Gill has been ruled out of the series, along with vice-captain Shreyas Iyer.
Gill has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against South Africa due to a neck injury suffered during the first Test against the Proteas at Eden Gardens in Kolkata. Gill suffered a neck sprain while batting in India's first innings of the 1st Test against the Proteas at Eden Gardens and left the ground immediately.
He was taken to hospital where he underwent further scans and was advised rest by the doctors. The Indian skipper was subsequently ruled out of the ongoing 2nd Test against South Africa in Guwahati. Apart from Gill, his deputy, Iyer, will also miss the ODI series against the Proteas as he continues to recover from a spleen injury suffered last month.
Iyer injured his spleen after falling awkwardly on the ground while attempting an acrobatic catch in the Sydney ODI against Australia. He ended up suffering a spleen laceration and underwent treatment at a hospital in Sydney before returning home earlier this month. The star batter is likely to remain out of action for nearly two months and is also reportedly set to miss the New Zealand ODI series in January.
With both captain and vice-captain ruled out of the series, Rahul is set to lead India in ODIs for the first time since the South Africa series in 2023. Rahul led India to a 2-1 victory in the ODI series in South Africa in his last assignment as captain of the Men in Blue. He was a frontrunner to lead the side alongside Rishabh Pant after Gill and Iyer were both deemed unlikely to be fit for the South Africa ODIs.
India's squad for South Africa ODI series:
KL Rahul (c/wk), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel
More to follow...