New Delhi: KL Rahul will lead India in the three One-day Internationals (ODIs) against South Africa while Jasprit Bumrah will be his deputy, BCCI said on Friday.
New white-ball captain Rohit Sharma has still not recovered from his hamstring injury and will miss the series. He has been doing his rehabilitation programme at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).
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Rohit Sharma was named India's limited-overs captain ahead of the start of the South Africa tour earlier this month. He was also appointed vice-captain of the Test side.
"We are looking to groom KL Rahul for captaincy. He has proved his leadership qualities," said chief selector Chetan Sharma.
Venkatesh Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been included in the ODI squad on the basis of their performance in Vijay Hazare Trophy. Shikhar Dhawan, R Ashwin and Washington Sundar also make a comeback to the team for the ODIs.
Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel were unavailable for selection due to injuries. Hardik Pandya has been left out from the squad while Mohammad Shami has been rested.
The other members in the team are Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur and Mohd Siraj.
On the controversy surrounding Virat Kohli leaving T20 captaincy, Chetan Sharma said, "Virat was requested not to take the decision to leave captaincy before the World Cup. Because it can affect the team. But Virat had taken his decision. Everyone had requested him."
"I called Virat and I told him that we selectors had decided that there would be only one captain in white ball cricket. It was not an easy decision. Virat is a very important player," Sharma said.
"With the World Cup to be played, how could we have told Virat then that if you leave the T20 captaincy, then you will have to leave the captaincy even in ODIs. Virat was requested not to take the decision to leave the captaincy ," Chetan Sharma further said.
He also said that there were no differences between Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.
Full Squad For South Africa ODIs: KL Rahul (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaekwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Y Chahal, R Ashwin, W Sundar, J Bumrah (VC), Bhuvneshwar Kumar,Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Siraj.
(With Inputs From Kuntal)