Wounded India seek immediate lift in return to ODIs

Fans of Indian cricket have little time to mourn a second home Test series defeat in a little over a year, because four days on from a crushing loss in Guwahati, the team changes formats once again to front up to South Africa in the first of three ODIs. 

Such is the nature of the beast, isn’t it? 

India did not play a Test match for over two months and hopped from winning the T20 Asia Cup to hosting West Indies for two Tests; as soon as that was over, they flew to Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is and less than a week later, they were back playing five-day cricket against South Africa.

For what it’s worth, India are ranked number one in ODIs. South Africa are down at sixth. In 2025, India have won nine of 11 ODI matches, which came in Australia this month where they were beaten 2-1. South Africa, this year, are 7-7. 

Such statistics may not matter when the first ODI gets underway in Ranchi on Sunday. Instead, player fatigue and mental makeup could be the deciding factors. 

Yes, beating India in India in any format has been tough, but Temba Bavuma’s team has just smashed them 2-0. India’s ego has been hurt, and they will target some sort of good vibes in the 50-over format, aiming to pick up from where they left off in their previous ODI series at home, back in January. 

The new captain Shubman Gill is not part of the squad on account of the neck spasm sustained during the Eden Gardens Test, and his deputy Shreyas Iyer is still recovering from a ruptured spleen. In Gill’s absence, KL Rahul has been named captain and Rishabh Pant, back in the ODI format, is vice-captain. 

Yashasvi Jaiswal looks set to add to the solitary ODI cap he won earlier this year, getting the chance to open alongside Rohit Sharma ahead of the reserve opener, Ruturaj Gaikwad. In Iyer’s place, one of Pant and Tilak Varma will slot in. 

Nitish Reddy’s fluctuating performances in all three formats might see him edged out if India put faith in the allrounders Washington Sundar and Ravindra Jadeja – recalled for the first time since the Champions Trophy – and three pacers in Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Prasidh Krishna. 

As for South Africa, with regular skipper Bavuma back in the mix, it seems as if Wiann Mulder will drop out of the 11. Ryan Rickleton is also likely to be watching from the sidelines as Quinton de Kock is paired up with Aiden Markram – who has not played ODIs since September – at the top. Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, and Dewald Brevis will make up the middle order, followed by, in all likelihood, two allrounders in Corbin Bosch and Marco Jansen. 

India likely playing 11: 1 Yashasvi Jaiswal, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 KL Rahul (capt/wk), 5 Rishabh Pant, 6 Washington Sundar, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Harshit Rana, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Arshdeep Singh, 11 Prasidh Krishna

South Africa likely playing 11: 1 Aiden Markram, 2 Quinton de Kock (wk), 3 Temba Bavuma, 4 Matthew Breetzke, 5 Tristan Stubbs, 6 Dewald Brevis, 7 Corbin Bosch, 8 Marco Jansen, 9 Keshav Maharaj, 10 Nandre Burger, 11 Lungi Ngidi