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While the batting line-up mostly remains the same for the T20Is, the bowling attack will have a lot more experience with the return of Jadeja, Chahar, Kuldeep and Siraj, perhaps a hint towards how the team management and selectors are thinking for the T20 World Cup just more than six months away.
Unlike for the Test and T20I squads, the BCCI release did not name a vice-captain for the ODIs.
Rahul was the India vice-captain during the World Cup after Pandya’s injury and has led the ODI side in nine games overall, the first of which was in South Africa in early 2022, when India were whitewashed 3-0. Rahul soon led India again, for a 3-0 series win in Zimbabwe later that year. He has also captained India in the absence of Rohit in three other ODIs all of which they won – one in Bangladesh in December last year and twice against Australia in the home ODIs before the recent World Cup.
Since his return to the ODI side for the Asia Cup in September after a long injury layoff, Rahul has been a crucial middle-order batter for India mostly at No. 5. He has averaged 75.70 and struck at 92.54 in 16 innings since his return, with two centuries and four half-centuries.
After the ongoing five-T20I series against Australia ends on December 3, India have only six more T20Is scheduled as of now before next year’s T20 World Cup, apart from IPL 2024. They play three matches in South Africa on December 10, 12 and 14, and then host Afghanistan for three matches in January next year.
India’s T20I squad for South Africa: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-capt), Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Deepak Chahar
India’s ODI squad for South Africa: Ruturaj Gaikwad, B Sai Sudharsan, Tilak Varma, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (capt & wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar
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