Change looms as India, SA renew rivalry

After missing out on winning a first Test series in South Africa, India go into the ODI series with focus on stand-in skipper KL Rahul and Virat Kohli, who is playing his first game merely as a batter

Four years is a long time in sport. The last time India played an ODI series in South Africa, MS Dhoni was a year-and-a-half from international retirement, Rishabh Pant was 10 months from his ODI debut and KL Rahul was not in the squad. Virat Kohli was an all-format skipper and in prime form.

KL Rahul and Virat Kohli (AP)

Having grassed what many believe was their best chance to win a Test series in South Africa, India will have to turn things around after a few troubled months following the T20 World Cup debacle. Kohli is no longer captain in any format, and the churn begins with the first ODI at Paarl, in South Africa’s wine country, on Wednesday under a stand-in captain and vice-captain.

While the leadership transition from Dhoni to Kohli was seamless, the handover from Kohli to Rohit Sharma has been a study in mismanagement. With Sharma out of the tour due to hamstring injury, Rahul, who led in the second Test when Kohli sat out due to back spasms, will make his ODI captaincy debut.

Rahul has been on a rollercoaster ride of his own. Not picked for the World Test Championship final, he made a successful return for the Tests in England, only to miss the two home Tests against New Zealand due to a thigh muscle strain.

He made a match-winning century on comeback in the first Test at Centurion before his form dipped again. Named ODI skipper in Sharma's absence, Kohli relinquishing Test captaincy has made Rahul a strong contender for that job.

"It will be a huge honour, but right now, I am not looking for it. If it comes my way, I will give my best, but right now I am only thinking of this ODI series," he told a pre-match press conference on Tuesday.

Minutes before the interaction, reports came in that Rahul has been picked by the new Lucknow IPL franchise as captain for a reported fee of ₹15 crore. India would hope the new skipper makes an impact as he was underwhelming as leader of IPL team Punjab Kings.

Speaking on his philosophy as captain, Rahul said, “I don't think too far ahead. I take every match as it comes; that's how I bat and that’s how I will lead. One thing that I have learned from Virat is to motivate the boys and help them do something special for India. I would like to build on that.

"As a person, I don't see much changes in myself. The only difference is a lot more is being written about me… I still like to enjoy my cricket and not over think."

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who last played an ODI in the West Indies in 2017, is set to make a return. Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, who starred with 16 wickets in his last ODI series in South Africa, will hope for an encore. Having lost his spot after the 2019 World Cup, Chahal's last ODI was in July 2021 in Sri Lanka.

The Western Cape province where Paarl lies is under a heatwave. With the day temperature expected to be in the mid-30 degrees Celsius, the pitch is expected to help spinners. Rahul hinted at playing two spinners. “The pitch looks helpful for spin. Chahal has been doing the job for us for many years now and we all know the quality of Ashwin,” he said.

Rahul confirmed he will open. “I am very flexible to bat anywhere, but with Rohit not being in the team, I will bat at the top,” he said. “We believe in flexibility and not in predictability. Everyone is prepared to bat anywhere depending on what the team wants and what our strategies dictate.”

This ODI series is not part of the World Cup Super League, and with the next World T20 10 months away, the relevance of 50-over contests is questionable. However, with Covid-related disruptions commonplace, India can plug long-standing chinks in whatever opportunities they get before next year's 50-over World Cup at home.

“We haven't played much ODI cricket of late, but over the next few months we have a few series lined up. Every white-ball match we play from now will be very important leading up to the ODI World Cup," Rahul said.

Leaking runs in the powerplay and the inability to get an explosive push towards the end of the innings will be areas to address. With Hardik Pandya out of contention, Rahul and Co would hope Venkatesh Iyer comes good as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

“The sixth bowler is very important in modern cricket, and we have known that for a very long time. We will give Venkatesh Iyer a chance. He has done decent against New Zealand and very well for KKR in IPL,” said Rahul.

In Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul and Kohli, India have an experienced top order. Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer form a potent middle-order, but playing six bowlers means Shreyas Iyer or Yadav may have to sit out.

The Temba Bavuma-led South Africa have released pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada from the series to manage his workload.