IND vs SA: KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Axar Patel front-runners to lead in South Africa ODIs as Shubman Gill set to be ruled out - Reports

Shubman Gill will miss ODIs against South Africa due to neck injury.

Indian Cricket Team and South Africa Cricket Team are scheduled to lock horns in three ODI games starting November 30. However, the hosts have suffered two big blows ahead of the series as ODI captain Shubman Gill and his deputy Shreyas Iyer have been ruled out, as reported by Times of India.

Vice-captain Shreyas Iyer has been ruled out of the ODI series against South Africa after sustaining a spleen injury while fielding in the third ODI in Sydney. Gill, on the other hand, sustained a neck injury while batting in the first test against South Africa at Eden Gardens, Kolkata and the was also ruled out of the ongoing second test against South Africa in Guwahati.

A BCCI official was quoted as saying by The Times of India that Gill will not be part of the ODI series against the Proteas. Moreover, he is likely to return in the T20I series against South Africa, scheduled to start on December 9.

“Unfortunately Gill will not be available for selection for the three ODIs vs South Africa. He has been advised more rest by the specialists and continues to be monitored by the BCCI medical team,” said a BCCI official.

KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Rishabh Pant in line for captaincy for South Africa ODI series- Reports

With Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer all set to be ruled out of the series, the reports suggested that selectors are discussing about the captaincy candidate and KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Rishabh Pant have emerged as front runners. Selectors will meet in Guwahati to finalise the squad for the ODI series.

Pant, who is the vice-captain of the test team, is leading the side in Guwahati test, but hasn’t been a permanent pick in ODIs. He was part of the team that won the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 but missed the Australia ODIs due to injury. He made his comeback to the national side in South Africa series after recovering from a foot injury in the test series against England in July.

On the other hand, Rahul has led India in all three formats in the past, while Axar was the vice-captain in T20Is and also captains Delhi Capitals (DC) in Indian Premier League (IPL).

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