Virat
Kohli, Team India’s superstar batter, is set to play in the first ODI of three-match
series against South Africa at Paarl only as player for the first time in five years. On Wednesday, when India will take the field, Kohli will play under
India’s stand-in captain KL Rahul, who will be leading India in absence of
injured captain Rohit Sharma. Kohli gave up Test captaincy last Saturday after
being removed from ODI leadership in November. He earlier stepped down from
India’s T20I captaincy.

Also Read: ‘Superhero’, ‘epitome of leadership’: Indian pacers pay tributes to Kohli

Whether
he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line, Kohli’s every
move is tracked but some of that attention will now have to be shared by Rahul.

More
importantly, will he be at his usual animated best on the field or will the
cricketing world see a rather subdued Kohli after his stunning resignation from
Test captaincy brought an end to his innings as the official leader of the team
across formats? He did not want to leave ODI captaincy after relinquishing the
role in the shortest format and it led to a war of words with the BCCI on how
the entire matter was handled.

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His
supporters and Indian cricket, in general, will be hoping that Kohli has put
his differences with the BCCI firmly behind him and come Wednesday, he starts a
new innings with his willow doing most of the talking. A highly desired century
after two years would be cherry on top.

Rahul,
who is leading the side in the absence of an injured Rohit Sharma, is expected
to turn to Kohli for advice during the series. Not only Kohli has a major role
to play as a batter, but as vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah said on the eve of the
series, the star “will always be a leader” in the team.

Also Read: South Africa beat India by 7 wickets to win Test series 2-1 on Day 4

With
the new leadership and support staff, India will look to win the series with
one eye on preparations for the 2023 World Cup and also make up for the
disappointment of unexpectedly going down in the Tests last week.

Full-strength Indian team

The
last time a full-strength India played an ODI series was at home against
England in March before a second-string squad travelled to Sri Lanka in July.

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Rahul
batted in the middle-order against England but it remains to be seen if he
moves back to the top alongside Shikhar Dhawan.

Ruturaj
Gaikwad, who made the squad following an exceptional domestic season, might
have to wait longer for his ODI debut.

Also Read: Who will be India’s next Test captain as Virat Kohli steps down?

It
will be crucial three games for the seasoned Dhawan, who has already lost his
place in the T20 side.

The
southpaw has thrived under pressure in the past and will be looking to solidify
his position as the first-choice opener alongside Rohit when the latter returns
from injury.

Also Read: Virat Kohli steps down as India Test captain

Kohli
will bat at his usual number three spot while there will be a toss-up between
Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer for the number four position.

Rishabh
Pant is expected to come at number five while Venkatesh Iyer is likely to make
his 50-over debut as the all-rounder at six, having shown promise in the T20s against
New Zealand.

Also Read: Got carried away: Virat Kohli on Dean Elgar DRS controversy at Newlands

The
two spinners likely to play are Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin, who has made a
comeback after more than four years.

Bumrah, Bhuvneshar to lead pace
attack

Bumrah
and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will share the load in the pace department while for the
third pace option, the management could pick Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur or
Prasidh Krishna.

Mohammad
Siraj, who injured his hamstring during the Test series, is also fit as
suggested by Bumrah on Monday.

On
the previous tour, India hammered the hosts 5-1 in ODIs and they will draw confidence
from that.

Also Read: IPL 2022: Royal Challengers Bangalore target in-demand Shreyas Iyer

South
Africa will be in high spirits after a memorable victory in the five-day
format.

Skipper
Temba Bavuma played a few crucial in the preceding Tests and he will carry that
confidence into his batting as well as his leadership.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar suggests Rishabh Pant’s name for India Test captaincy role

Quinton
de Kock, who retired from Test cricket after the series opener against India,
starts his life as a white-ball only player.

Tall
left-arm pacer Marco Jansen, who excelled in his maiden Test series, is
expected to trouble the Indian batters with his extra bounce and variations in
the short format after earning a maiden call-up.

If
Tests were any indication, the ODIs would be an intensely-fought affair.

Squads

India:
KL Rahul (Captain), Jasprit Bumrah, Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat
Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant
(wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin,
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Md. Siraj,
Jayant Yadav, Navdeep Saini.

South
Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Keshav Maharaj, Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper),
Zubayr Hamza, Marco Jansen, Janneman Malan, Sisanda Magala, Aiden Markram,
David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Wayne Parnell, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius,
Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne.

Match
starts 2 PM IST.