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Patidar, Mukesh, Shahbaz and Tripathi in ODI squad for SA series
Patidar has been rewarded for the Madhya Pradesh batter's excellent season across formats while Mukesh Kumar rocked Saurashtra on Day 1 of the Irani Cup.
Rajat Patidar and Mukesh Kumar have earned maiden India call-ups for the three-match ODI series against South Africa starting in Lucknow on October 6. With the India squad for the T20 World Cup due to leave for Australia on October 6, a second-string side led by Shikhar Dhawan will play the ODIs. The second match will be played in Ranchi on October 9 and the final tie in New Delhi on October 11.
Batter Rahul Tripathi and all-rounder Shahbaz Ahmed are the other uncapped players in the squad. Tripathi earned his maiden national call-up during the T20 series against Ireland in June. Ahmed is part of the squad for the ongoing South Africa T20s.
Patidar’s selection is reward for his impressive run of scores across formats this year. Aside from a 54-ball 112* for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Lucknow Super Giants in IPL 2022, the 29-year-old batter played a crucial hand in Madhya Pradesh winning the Ranji Trophy, scoring 122 against Mumbai in the final. He was the second-highest run-getter of the 2021/22 Ranji season with a tally of 658 runs that included two centuries and five fifties.
His other notable scores recently are 176 and 109* for India A in four-day matches against New Zealand A in Bengaluru. He usually bats at No 3 or 4, relying on a robust technique and sound timing to score.
Bengal pacer Kumar’s selection comes a day after he starred for Rest of India against 2020 Ranji champions Saurashtra in the Irani Cup. Opening the bowling for his side on Day 1 of the five-day clash, he returned figures of 10-4-23-4 as the Ranji champions were bundled out for 98. The 28-year-old, who made his debut in the 2015/16 season, was among the top 10 wicket-takers in the 2021/22 Ranji campaign with 20 scalps in five matches.
In his first-class career, he has taken 109 wickets in 30 matches. His record in limited-overs cricket, though, isn’t as noteworthy. He has claimed 17 wickets in 18 List A matches and 19 in 17 T20s.
While none from the T20 World Cup squad were going to be available for these games, Shreyas Iyer and Deepak Chahar—standbys for the marquee event – feature in the ODI squad. Iyer has been named Dhawan’s deputy.
The ODI squad also includes Mohammed Siraj, who is set to travel to Australia as a net bowler for the T20 World Cup alongside pacer Umran Malik. Given that he has been drafted in for the South Africa T20s in place of the injured Jasprit Bumrah, he could be in contention to make it to the World Cup squad if Bumrah is ruled out.
ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan (capt), Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohammed Siraj, Deepak Chahar.
