K.L. Rahul named India captain for South Africa ODIs

With Rohit Sharma ruled out of the three-match ODI series against South Africa, K.L. Rahul will take over India’s 18-player squad, the BCCI announced on 31 December 2021.

“We are looking at K.L. Rahul as a three-format player, and he has got good experience of captaincy,” Chairman of Selectors, Chetan Sharma said in an online press interaction. 

“He has proved his leadership qualities. That is what all selectors think. When Rohit is not fit, we thought K.L. is the best one to handle the side. We have good confidence in him, and we are grooming him.”

This was supposed to be Rohit’s first series as India’s ODI captain, but he is yet to recover fully from his recurring hamstring injury. With the T20 World Cup and the ODI World Cup coming in two years, the selectors have erred on the side of caution on Rohit’s behalf.

“This is the only reason why we have decided to let him work on his rehab, work on his fitness, work on his muscles,” Chetan Sharma explained. 

“Nobody gets injured on purpose. This is precisely why we didn’t send him to South Africa because we want him to go back to 100% fitness because there are important events and World Cups coming.”

Jasprit Bumrah has been named as the vice-captain for the series; while R. Ashwin, who last played an ODI in 2017, has been recalled to the side.