Will Rohit Sharma captain again with Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer injured? A look at possible leadership options for SA ODIs

Shubman Gill, the captain of Indian ODI team, is currently injured and his availability for the upcoming One-dayers against South Africa is under scanner. His deputy in the format, Shreyas Iyer, too remains injured and is unlikely to take part in the series. That puts the Gautam Gambhir-led team management in a spot of bother as to who will take up the captaincy duties for the series.

Despite India winning the Champions Trophy under Rohit Sharma’s leadership, the veteran was removed from captaincy ahead of the ODI series in Australia and Gill was handed the reigns. However, Gill suffered an injury in the opening Test against South Africa, and his availability remains a concern.

Iyer, who was announced as the vice-captain for the Australia ODIs, got injured during the final ODI and had to be rushed to hospital. He is currently recovering but is unlikely to be fully fit for the upcoming ODI series against the Proteas.

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The fitness concerns of Gill and Iyer has prompted fans to ponder over who could lead the Indian side in the one-dayers against South Africa. Here we look at the possible options.

Rohit Sharma to lead India again?

With 42 wins in 56 matches, Rohit has one of the strongest captaincy records in ODI history. However, he was removed from the leadership spot with an eye on the 2027 World Cup. It seems unlikely that India will go back to Rohit who himself might not accept the proposal to fill in as a stand-in captain.

Virat Kohli is another option as he too has a solid captaincy record but he has not led since 2021 and might not be considered.

KL Rahul to lead?

Yashasvi Jaiswal will likely take Gill’s spot as an opener while the two down position might go to Rishabh Pant with some other contenders also in the race.

While Pant led the Test team in Gill’s absence, it is unlikely that he will be trusted as the ODI captain since he is not a regular in the 50-over team.

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Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah have both been overlooked for captaincy in different formats and with the duo being injury prone, they too will likely not be considered.

That leaves KL Rahul as the frontrunner to take the leadership role in case Gill and Iyer are both sidelined for the South Africa series due to their respective injuries.

India vs South Africa ODIs

India and South Africa will go head to head in three ODIs in Ranchi, Raipur and Vishakhapatnam. The series opens on November 30 while the final game takes place on December 6.

The ODI series will follow the completion of the second Test which is scheduled from November 22 to 26. The one-dayers will be followed by a five-match T20I series between the two sides.