Former Indian wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel picked his ideal playing XI for the first ODI against South Africa at the JSCA International Stadium in Ranchi and dropped Rishabh Pant and Ruturaj Gaikwad from his final XI.
After a humiliating wipeout against the Proteas in the longest format of the game, the Men in Blue are looking to turn the tables in the white-ball format. The ODI series is starting from 30th November.
The Indian ODI team is all set to undergo a major change, as Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer will miss the games due to injuries.
Rishabh Pant and Ruturaj Gaikwad sidelined in India’s ODI XI selection
Former wicketkeeper batsman Parthiv Patel was recently asked for his opinion on selecting India’s playing eleven for the opening ODI against South Africa.
He has not favored Ruturaj Gaikwad and Rishabh Pant in the playing eleven, although both these players have been kept in the mix of things and are more apt to take the lead in the race for the first ODI.
Ruturaj Gaikwad played a brilliant series against South Africa A and was also awarded Player of the Series. Gaikwad was also seen practicing with Virat Kohli in the nets in Ranchi.
Rishabh Pant, on the other hand, has not played in this format since July 2024. Although he has been brilliant for India in the Test format, he has played only 31 matches for India since his debut and averages 33.50.
Parthiv Patel backs India’s T20I star for ODI spot
Since KL Rahul is now the captain of the team in the absence of Shubman Gill and is also likely to do wicketkeeping, the former Indian wicketkeeper feels that there is no need for Rishabh Pant in the team.
He has backed Indian T20I star Tilak Verma, who has been doing a commendable job in the shortest format of the game. Tilak made his ODI debut for India in 2023 and has played 4 matches in his career.
In these four matches, he also scored a half-century against South Africa in Paarl. He has shown good domestic figures in white-ball cricket and has scored 1724 runs in 44 matches at an average of 45.36 and 5 centuries.
Speaking on a Star Sports show, Parthiv Patel said that he should be placed at number 1. 4 and players like Rishabh Pant, who had a poor performance in the Test format, and Ruturaj Gaikwad were also sidelined.
India will choose between Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar
The wicketkeeper batsman and currently the coach of Gujarat Titans also said that Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy will be selected depending on the circumstances. However, he forgot Gautam Gambhir’s love for batting depth.
They have favored a three-spin, three-pace attack but Gautam Gambhir is likely to bring in Nitish Kumar Reddy along with Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. However, the Titans coach has also included Prasidh Krishna in the eleven.
Parthiv Patel’s India XI for the first ODI: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Verma, KL Rahul (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar/Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh.
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