SA vs IND: Rohit Sharma ruled out of ODI series, KL Rahul named captain

India’s
white-ball captain Rohit Sharma on Friday has been ruled out of India’s
upcoming ODI series against South Africa, starting January 19 at Paarl. KL
Rahul has been named captain of an 18-member squad for the three-ODI series
that will start after the second and third Tests scheduled in Johannesburg and
Cape Town. Fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been named Rahul’s deputy for the
white-ball series.

Also Read: Virat Kohli excluded from Harsha Bhogle’s Test team of 2021

Veteran
pacer Mohammed Shami has been rested while Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja, who
is still recovering from an injury, were not selected.

The
second match will also be played at Paarl on January 21 while the third one
will be at Cape Town on January 23.

Also Read: Ravichandran Ashwin among four nominees for ICC Test Cricketer of the year award

“Rohit
Sharma is not fit, he is in rehab and he is not going for the ODI series in
South Africa. He is working on and building on his fitness. We never wanted to
take chance with him,” chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said before
announcing the team.

‘We are looking to groom Rahul’

“We
are looking to groom KL Rahul and we have confidence in him. He has proved his
leadership qualities. KL is the best one who can handle the side. He is an
all-format player and he has got good experience of captaincy … this is what
all selectors think,” Chetan Sharma added.

Also Read: Harbhajan Singh praises Virat Kohli’s temperament, compares him to MS Dhoni

Rohit
and Jadeja were working on their fitness at the National Cricket Academy (NCA)
in Bengaluru after being ruled out of the ongoing Test series in South Africa
due to injuries.

In
fact, the selection meeting was supposed to be held earlier, just after the
Vijay Hazare Trophy, but it was pushed back only to ensure that Rohit gets a
chance to pass the fitness test.

Also Read: SA v Ind: Pant fastest Indian wicketkeeper to get 100 Test dismissals

“We
thought if Rohit is 100 per cent fit, there is no chance for injuries, then he
should not miss an important series. If he is not 100 per cent fit, we thought
we will not take a chance and all the five selectors decided not to take a
chance,” Sharma said.

All
the selectors had a chat with Rohit regarding his fitness.

Rohit,
who was named ODI captain earlier this month replacing Virat Kohli, was to
travel to South Africa as vice-captain for the Test series which began on
December 26 but a hamstring injury during training ruled him out. He had taken
charge as T20I captain against New Zealand last month.

Also Read: Mohammed Siraj turns Cristiano Ronaldo after taking wicket in Centurion. Watch

Sharma
said the selectors are not thinking beyond the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia.

‘Preparation is on for 2023 World
Cup’

“We
are definitely preparing for the 2023 (50-over) World Cup but our first aim is
the T20 World Cup. We are not thinking beyond that.

“We
have no right to assume who will be fit or not. No one wants to be unfit. We
are grooming KL Rahul and we also have Bumrah. We want them to learn and that
will be good for Indian cricket.” On Shami being rested, Sharma said,
“Looking at the workload management of our fast bowlers, we are resting
him.” Jadeja was earlier ruled out of the South Africa tour due to a knee
injury which he sustained during the New Zealand Test series at home last
month.

Also Read: India penalised for slow-over rate in Test against South Africa

Sharma
said the selection committee took into account the performances of players in
domestic cricket and some of the young talents were discussed in the meeting.

“All
five of us believe in domestic cricket. A lot of youngsters have already come
in the side on domestic cricket performances, especially like Ruturaj,
Venkatesh Iyer. Washington Sundar did very well after his injury, came back and
performed in domestic cricket, and he made his place in the Indian side for
ODIs,” Sharma said.

Also Read: Family is everything: De Kock retires from Test cricket with immediate effect

“A
few other young players we discussed are Ravi Bishnoi, Rishi Dhawan, who did
well in domestic cricket, in Mushtaq Ali as well as in Vijay Hazare. They will
definitely get their chances in future (because of load management). Another
dashing batsman Shahrukh Khan was also discussed, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan
also.”

Indian Squad: KL Rahul (captain),
Jasprit Bumrah (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli,
Surya Kumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper),
Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington
Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur,
Mohammed Siraj.