Ahead of the upcoming three-match One-Day International series against South Africa, India named their 15-member squad with KL Rahul as the captain. The decision was made as captain Shubman Gill and vice-captain Shreyas Iyer were both unavailable due to their respective injuries. However, many had predicted that Rishabh Pant would lead the side in case Gill and Iyer don't make it.

Contrary to the popular beliefs, the selection committee picked Rahul as the skipper, while citing the reason that Rahul is more used to playing the format and has been a consistent in the Playing XI. Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has played only a single ODI game in 2024, which was the reason the wicketkeeper-batter wasn't picked to lead the side in Gill's absence.

“Rahul's captaincy is 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 official was quoted as saying by NDTV Sports.

Speaking of KL Rahul's numbers in the format since 2023, he has played 35 innings mostly batting in the middle-order to smash 1332 runs with two centuries and seven half-centuries as well. He had a fairly successful Champions Trophy as well, finishing crucial games for the team during the triumphant campaign, while Pant remained on the bench throughout.

Pant, on the other hand, featured for the side in 12 games in 2022, none in 2023 and then only a solitary appearance in the following year, as his ODI career hasn't really picked up. However, he has a chance to redeem himself as the upcoming series, starting on November 30 will see him enter the assignment as the primary wicketkeeping option, while Rahul will be featuring as a specialist batter.

India ODI squad for South Africa series: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Tilak Varma, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Dhruv Jurel