KL In the first One-Day International against South Africa, Rahul will make his captaincy debut, leading the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Rohit suffered an injury in the nets, putting him out of the Test and ODI series against South Africa. On January 19, the opening ODI of the series will be played.
In an interview with the media, Rahul stated that he will begin the innings in Rohit's absence. In 18 matches, he has started the innings for India, scoring 808 runs at an average of 48.45 and a strike rate of 83.49. As an opener in ODIs, Rahul has three hundred and five half-centuries.
He last played for India in an ODI against Australia in Bengaluru in January 2020. In the absence of a proper finisher, the Indian squad attempted to show him as the ODI finisher. He scored 474 runs in the last nine matches as a finisher, including two century and two half-centuries. Rahul made his ODI debut as an opener, becoming the first Indian player to score a century on his maiden appearance. In his career, he has spent the majority of his time opening the innings, and he will continue that role in the first ODI.
"In the last 14-15 months, I've played at several positions." But, because Rohit isn't here, I'm going to open," Rahul stated.
Virat Kohli will play his first ODI after being dropped from the ODI captaincy last year. Rahul stated that the Indian team had achieved a lot under Kohli's leadership and that his duty would be to continue on that path. Rahul stated on his leadership debut that he will take one game at a time. He also stated that he will learn from former Indian captains Kohli and MS Dhoni.
"I keep everything in line and focus on one game at a time." The 2nd Test provided a lot of info. Hopefully, I can learn from MS and Virat and continue to improve throughout my path. I don't really set goals for myself. I limit myself to one game at a time. The two great captains have set the route for us. Under Virat's leadership, we achieved extraordinary results. It'll be important for us to build on it," Rahul added.