It seemed that Shubman Gill’s untimely neck spasm left the BCCI in the lurch for a skipper. The newly named India’s ODI captain who endured a defeat to Australia in his first assignment, has been ruled out of the upcoming ODI rubber against South Africa. Going against the reports of Rishabh Pant joining the team and perhaps leading as well, it looks like the management has settled down with KL Rahul, who is likely to be India’s new ODI captain for the Proteas series that starts on November 30.
No Gill or Iyer for ODI captaincy
When Rohit Sharma was stripped of captaincy just before the ODI series against the Aussies, it came as a huge shocker for some. While the transition was necessary, the manner could’ve been managed well. Some KL Rahul fans argued that it should be him to lead the side, especially in ODIs. Now, they have their wish granted as the first-choice keeper will lead in ODIs, as per TOI.
India will be without Gill, who has been ruled out of the entire ongoing South Africa tour of India. While he was eager to play even the 2nd Test in Guwahati, the recovery time extended after Gill was retired hurt in Kolkata after batting just 3 balls. Also, India wouldn’t have Shreyas Iyer, who would’ve ideally led India had he been available.
Being India’s new ODI vice-captain, Iyer was set to lead the side in the absence of Gill but even he is ruled out of action for the next couple of months. For those unaware, Iyer was hurt after he took a splendid catch in the Sydney ODI against Australia. He suffered internal bleeding in the abdomen and won’t be able to recover in time.
KL Rahul pips Rishabh Pant
With KL Rahul being the premier keeper in the format and having done superbly, KL Rahul has been chosen with the responsibility. He will lead Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma as well, who now play only the 50-over format. Rahul’s resurgence in the ODI format began when he came back from his surgery at the Asia Cup 2023. He replaced Iyer in the playing XI against Pakistan and delivered a fabulous ton.
Since his ODI comeback, KL Rahul has managed to muster 1106 runs at a superb average of 55.30, which is only bettered by Virat Kohli in this period for India. He has worked terrifically on his strike rate as well, having now been batting at that crucial number 5 position. Under Gautam Gambhir, however, Rahul has been demoted to number 6, with Axar Patel adding up as a lefty in a star-studded but right-hand-dominated batting order.
Pant, meanwhile, hasn’t broken down white-ball cricket. He may be the best-ever keeper for India in Tests, he still lags behind in consistency in ODIs and T20Is. Due to his unfortunate accident, Pant has managed to play just a solitary ODI since 2023. In 2022, he played 12 ODIs and scored a total of 336 runs despite hammering his best ODI knock of 125* against England in Manchester.
The post BCCI chooses KL Rahul over Pant to replace Shubman Gill, who is out of entire South Africa series appeared first on Inside Sport India.
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