For the first time in 7 years, all eyes will be on Virat Kohli, playing in the Indian team only as a batsman, when the Indian team under the captaincy of KL Rahul in the first ODI against South Africa (India vs South Africa). Will go to play the match. Be it batting at the crease or fielding near the boundary, Kohli's every move will be the eyes of the fans, although Rahul's captaincy will also be put to the test.
It will also be seen whether he looks full of vigor and aggression on the field as usual or appears indifferent on the field after leaving the captaincy in every format of cricket with Test captaincy. After T20, he did not want to give up the ODI captaincy and on this issue, he also got angry with BCCI. His fans and Indian cricket must be praying that forgetting his dispute with BCCI, he starts a new innings of his career in which only his bat speaks. Two years later, his century with the bat will be icing on the cake.
Rahul, who is captaining the injured Rohit Sharma, will take advice from Kohli in the series. Kohli does not have to play an important role only as a batsman, but as vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah has said that he will always be the leader of the team. Winning this series with a new captain and support staff, India would like to start preparations for the 2023 World Cup. Along with this, the wounds caused by the defeat in the Test series last week have to be healed.
India last played an ODI series with a strong team against England in March. After this, the second-rate team went to Sri Lanka in July. Rahul had batted in the middle order against England and now it remains to be seen whether he opens the innings again with Shikhar Dhawan. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who made his place in the team after a stellar performance in the domestic season, will have to wait for his debut. These three matches will be very important for Dhawan as he has already lost his place in the T20 team.
Kohli will land at number three while for number four, there will be a selection between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer. Rishabh Pant will bat at number five and Venkatesh Iyer can make his debut at number six. Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin will be responsible for the spin bowling. Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will lead the pace attack while Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, and one of the famous Krishna can be fielded as a third option. Mohammad Siraj, who was injured in the Test series, is also fit. On the last tour, India defeated South Africa 5-1 in the ODI series, although South Africa are on their way to winning the Test series.
Temba Bavuma would like to continue his Test form while Quinton de Kock, who has retired from Tests, would like to prove his worth in the ODIs. Fast bowler Marco Yansen, who was impressed in the Test series, can once again trouble the Indian batsmen.
