IND vs SA, 1st ODI: Venkatesh Iyer makes debut as Ashwin returns to XI; Shreyas Iyer to play at no.4

KL Rahul confirmed that Shreyas Iyer will take the number 4 spot in the XI while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur lead the pace attack.

Venkatesh Iyer makes his ODI debut for India in the first ODI of the series against South Africa in Paarl. The all-rounder made his maiden international appearance in November in a T20I against New Zealand and received his first ODI call-up for the South Africa series. Iyer received his ODI cap from former captain Virat Kohli.

File Photo of Venkatesh Iyer. (AP)

During the toss, KL Rahul also confirmed that Shreyas Iyer will take the number 4 spot in the XI while Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Shardul Thakur lead the pace attack. Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal, meanwhile, will be a part of the spin-bowling attack in the Paarl ODI.

Team India is making a return to ODIs for the first time since late July last year. Rahul is leading the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma, who misses out due to fitness issues. The first ODI in Paarl also marks India's first appearance in the fifty-over format since Rohit succeeded Virat Kohli as full-time limited-overs captain.

India will be aiming to put behind the 1-2 loss in the Test series against South Africa, as a number of ODI regulars including Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar make a return.

Earlier, Rahul had said that the pitch at Boland Park looks to offer a lot more to spinners in comparison to the pitches throughout the Test series.

"We have practiced for a couple of days at Boland Park and the pitch does look like it might offer a lot more for the spinners than what we saw in the test series," Rahul told reporters.

"We have quality spinners. Ashwin is coming back into the one-day team and we all know what quality he brings. And Chahal has been a great performer for us for a number of years.

"If there is any help from the pitch, I know these two can exploit it. So they become really important for us."

Here is India XI:

KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal