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IND vs SA: KL Rahul becomes second Indian to reach unique captaincy feat during 1st ODI
As Rahul stepped out as Indian captain for the first time in ODIs on Wednesday, he achieved a unique feat.
KL Rahul is leading the Indian team in the three-match ODI series against South Africa. The series marks India's first ODI action since Rohit Sharma succeeded Virat Kohli as full-time limited-overs captain; however, Rohit remains absent from the South Africa tour due to fitness issues.
As Rahul stepped out as Indian captain for the first time in ODIs on Wednesday, he achieved a unique feat. The right-handed batter is leading the Indian team in his 39th ODI, which makes him the only second Indian to captain the side before making 50 appearances in the format.
Former India batter Mohinder Amarnath led the Indian team in his 35th appearance for the side in 1984.
Incidentally, Rahul, who has been the captain of Indian Premier League franchise Punjab Kings for the past two seasons of the tournament, has never led his domestic side Karnataka in a List A match as well. This also makes him the only third Indian to captain in an international match without prior List A experience in a leadership role.
Syed Kirmani and Virender Sehwag are the only other Indian players with similar feat.
Earlier, South Africa had won the toss and opted to bat in the Paarl ODI. Venkatesh Iyer is making his debut for the Indian team in the fifty-over format while Ravichandran Ashwin makes a return to the ODI side after over four years.
Shreyas Iyer is also included in the XI as the number 4 batter while Yuzvendra Chahal forms the spin duo alongside Ashwin. Vice-captain Jasprit Bumrah is leading the Indian pace attack alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur.
At the time of the toss, India skipper Rahul said: "Would've wanted to bat first. We're always ready to do both things. Looks a little bit dry. Have some quality spinners in our attack. With Bumrah and Bhuvi starting, hopefully, they'll get a couple early with the swing.
South Africa, meanwhile have also handed an ODI debut to left-arm seamer Marco Jansen.
