India Announces ODI Squad for South Africa Series: KL Rahul to Lead, Ravindra Jadeja Returns; Axar Patel Misses Out

The India national cricket team has revealed its squad for the South Africa series, which will consist of three ODIs starting on November 30, and the main news from the selection meeting is that KL Rahul has been made captain.

Rahul has been given the chance to lead the team for the series as the main captain Shubman Gill is out with a neck injury. The ace all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has returned to ODI squad while Axar Patel has been dropped, which is one of the most striking selection decisions.

Major Selection Talking Points

Jadeja’s recall comes after he was left out of the ODI series against Australia. His return, however, has come at the cost of Axar Patel, despite Axar’s decent performance in recent assignments—scoring 31 and 44 with the bat along with three wickets across three games.

Interestingly, this decision appears to contrast with chief selector Ajit Agarkar’s earlier stance that Axar was ahead of Jadeja in the format while conditions did not warrant multiple left-arm spin options.

Meanwhile, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy, a key figure in India’s Champions Trophy campaign, has also been left out.

Injury and Workload Management

Together with Gill, Hardik Pandya is still in the process of rehabilitation and has not yet regained match fitness; at the same time, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj, the mainstays of the pace attack, have been given a break.

Though veteran fast bowler Mohammed Shami has demonstrated his fitness at the domestic level, he is still not part of the national team as the selectors are still pursuing the younger pace core of Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, and Prasidh Krishna.

Fresh Faces and Middle-Order Experiments

The team also demonstrates a tendency for a more equitable left-right batting order. The choice of Tilak Varma shows that a middle-order experiment is going on, while Rishabh Pant is predicted to have a significant impact both as a keeper and with Rahul.

The series will most likely be a platform for the new names as India moves into the 2027 ODI World Cup, because Shreyas Iyer is still recovering from his injury.

Full India ODI Squad for South Africa Series

Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (C & wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel