India are down hurt after being clean swept 2-0 in a Test series against South Africa.
Their next assignment is a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against the same opposition, with the first fixture less than a day away from the time of writing.
Shubman Gill, injured during the first Test against the Proteas, misses the series, and is replaced in the role by wicket keeper batsman KL Rahul. So, he is one player confirmed to appear for the Indian team, but who are the rest?
While the actual playing XI will only be revealed after the toss tomorrow, here is a look at India’s predicted playing XI for the first India vs South Africa ODI.
India Predicted Playing XI vs South Africa
With Shubman Gill ruled out, either one of Yashasvi Jaiswal or Ruturaj Gaikwad could be seen opening the innings, very likely along with the experienced Rohit Sharma.
That said, Jaiswal might get the edge for a left-right combination.
Virat Kohli, another icon of the sport, should have his spot sealed at number three. Additionally, KL Rahul’s press conference from earlier today suggested that Rishabh Pant could also take to the field tomorrow.
As for the bowling department, we could see three spinners, as the pitch in Ranchi offers turn and grip.
With these things, and India’s usual ODI lineups of late in mind, here is a predicted playing XI for the first IND vs SA ODI:
Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Harshit Rana, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh
Interestingly, India’s last 50-over match at this venue was also against South Africa, a game they won comfortably by 7 wickets.
Whether they can repeat that success on their return to Ranchi remains to be seen.
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