Due to the injury, Shubman Gill will now be unable to play in the ODI series against South Africa. In his absence, KL Rahul has been appointed captain of the ODI team. It is now believed that Rishabh Pant was also a contender for the ODI captaincy.
The three-match ODI series against South Africa begins on November 30th. The first match will be played in Ranchi on November 30th, the second in Raipur on December 3rd, and the third in Visakhapatnam on December 6th. The BCCI selection committee announced the Indian squad for the series on Sunday. KL Rahul will lead the team in Gill’s absence. Gill was named the new captain of the Indian ODI team last month, replacing Rohit Sharma. He was chosen as captain with the 2027 ODI World Cup in mind, but he was ruled out of the very next series due to injury.
Shreyas Iyer, who served as the vice-captain of the ODI team on the Australia tour, is also out due to injury. He suffered a serious injury while taking a catch in a match against Australia and was immediately rushed to the hospital. In the absence of both Gill and Iyer, the selectors chose a temporary captain for the South Africa series.
Why not Rishabh Pant?
According to media reports, Rishabh Pant was also a choice as captain for the ODI series against South Africa. He is currently captaining India in the second and final matches of the ongoing Test series between the two countries in Guwahati. The source said that Pant was not given the captaincy because he has played only one ODI in the last one year. He was last seen in an ODI during the tour of Sri Lanka last year. He was part of the Indian squad for the Champions Trophy but did not find a place in the playing eleven in any of the tournament’s matches.