Who will captain India in South Africa ODIs? Rohit Sharma back in contention as Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer sidelined

The captain of the Indian ODI team, Shubman Gill, is currently dealing with an injury, which raises questions about whether he will be able to participate in the One-day series against South Africa. His deputy Shreyas Iyer is also injured and is expected to miss the series. This situation puts the team management, led by Gautam Gambhir, in a difficult situation as to who will take over the captaincy of the matches.

Although India won the Champions Trophy under Rohit Sharma’s guidance, the veteran was stripped of his captaincy ahead of the ODI series in Australia and Gill took on the leadership role. Unfortunately, Gill was injured during the opening Test against South Africa, casting doubt on his participation.

Iyer, who was appointed as the vice-captain of the Australia ODIs, suffered an injury during the last ODI and required urgent medical attention. He is currently recovering but is not expected to be fully fit for the upcoming ODI series against the Proteas.

Injury concerns surrounding Gill and Iyer have left fans speculating on who can lead the Indian team in the one-day match against South Africa. Here we are researching potential candidates.

Can Rohit Sharma return as captain?

With an impressive record of 42 wins in 56 matches, Rohit has one of the best captaincy records in ODI history. However, he was relieved of his duties as captain due to the focus on the 2027 World Cup. India are unlikely to go back to Rohit, who is not inclined to accept even an interim captaincy role.

Virat Kohli is also a valid candidate as he has a strong captaincy record, but he has not led the team since 2021 and may not be considered.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is expected to replace Gill at the opener while Rishabh Pant is expected to take one of the lower batting positions, but there are other candidates in contention.

Although Pant has captained the Test team in Gill’s absence, his appointment as ODI captain seems unlikely, given that he is not a regular member of the 50-over team.

Both Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have been passed over for captaincy roles in various formats and are unlikely to be considered for leadership as well due to their injury history.

This positions KL Rahul as the leading candidate to take over the captaincy in case both Gill and Iyer are unable to play in the series against South Africa due to injuries.

India will face South Africa in the three-match ODI series with matches scheduled in Ranchi, Raipur and Vishakhapatnam. The series will start on November 30 and end with the final match on December 6.

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