Squads for India and South Africa for the upcoming ODI series

Within days of the Indian cricket team announcing their squad for the upcoming ODI series, hosts South Africa also picked their finest who will take on the Men in Blue in a three-match ODI series after the Test series comes to an end.

Rohit Sharma copped a severe blow to his hamstring before the start of the Test series and couldn’t travel with the Indian team to the Rainbow Nation. With the latest team announced, it was clarified that he was not going to be a part of the ODI series either.

KL Rahul will be leading the team in his absence with express bowler, Jasprit Bumrah being his deputy. Ruturaj Gaekwad gets his shot as he was summoned to the national side while Virat Kohli will be India’s best batting weapon. Kohli stunned the world with his wondrous batting exploits the last time India toured South Africa.

In the bunch of South Africa’s finest, young Marco Jansen made the cut as he got his maiden call-up for the national ODI team.

There will be a change in captaincy personnel for South Africa as Temba Bavuma will be leading the hosts with spinner, Keshav Maharaj was chosen as the deputy to the captain.

De Kock who recently announced retirement from the longest format of the game was announced for the ODI squad. Dwaine Pretorius was recalled to the South African side however, the hosts will be without their primary fast bowler, Anrich Nortje as the express bowler copped a severe injury ahead of the Test series.

Young Indian batter, Surya Kumar Yadav got another opportunity where his tryst with consistency will be a major test of the hour. Shreyas Iyer was also chosen to bolster the Indian middle-order.

The rising all-rounder, Venkatesh Iyer was brought to the side to strengthen their all-round department in the absence of their primary all-rounder, Ravindra Jadeja.

An old rivalry will be stoked as Wayne Parnell will be coming to the fore against the Indian batters once again. Zubayr Hamza, who made his debut in the opening ODI against the Netherlands, is also a part of the South African ODI squad.

Rishabh Pant and Ishan Kishan were brought to the Indian side with the onus of keeping wickets while the bowling department was stacked with three spinners and six fast bowlers. Yuzvendra Chahal was summoned back to the Indian side after a pompous display in the latest edition of IPL.

Victor Mpitsang, CSA Convenor of Selectors, was heard quoting, “this is a very exciting group and the Selection Panel and I are eager to see what they will produce. For many of our players, it does not get bigger than playing against this powerhouse Indian team and this will be the biggest series of their young lives so far. We are looking forward to seeing what they bring to the table and wish Temba (Bavuma) and Mark (Boucher) all the best for the series."

India Squad: KL Rahul (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, R Ashwin, W Sundar, J Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj.

South Africa Squad: Temba Bavuma (C), Keshav Maharaj (VC), Quinton de Kock, Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.