India's ODI lineup for the upcoming series against South Africa has finally been revealed. Rohit Sharma, the new skipper, has been unable to recover from a hamstring injury in a timely manner, which has caused the squad announcement to be delayed. KL Rahul is expected to lead India for the first time, while Virat Kohli is also a member of the squad as a player, has confirmed his availability. The side's vice-captain has been named Jasprit Bumrah.
Ravi Ashwin, an off-spinner, has made a comeback in the limited-overs format and has been named in the ODI squad for the first time since 2017. Even as the finger spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav, he last played for India in the format in June 2017 in the West Indies. Chahal has made it to the 18-member team, while it has lost touch.
Meanwhile, Ruturaj Gaikwad has been rewarded for his outstanding performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy this season, in which he hit four hundred in five games. He scored 603 runs in total, with an incredible average of 150.75 and the best score of 168. Shikhar Dhawan, who led India's depleted side in Sri Lanka in July 2021, has also been selected, but it's unknown if he'll ever get a chance.
Venkatesh Iyer's rapid rise in international cricket has continued with his first ODI call-up. He did well in the T20I series against New Zealand at home, and he was also quite impressive for Madhya Pradesh in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. In six matches, he scored 379 runs at an average of 63.16 and a strike rate of 133.92. Iyer had two centuries and a fifty, the best of which was 151.
Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Chahar, and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are among the other players set to make the squad. Prasidh Krishna has been picked after impressing in the ODI series against England, while Shardul Thakur remains in India's squads across all formats, as has Mohammed Siraj after his performance in the ODI series against England.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar is making a comeback after a long break due to injury. Ishan Kishan, who was selected for the Sri Lanka ODIs, has also been retained. The three-match One-Day International series will begin on January 19 at Boland Park in Paarl. On January 21, the second One-Day International will be held at the same venue.