NEW DELHI: In a huge setback to Team India, ODI captain Shubman Gill will be unavailable for the three-match 50-over series versus South Africa, starting from November 30. With Shreyas Iyer already out of action for an extended period, India will be without their captain and vice-captain for the series.Gill, who flew to Mumbai from Guwahati on November 21, and is missing the second Test against South Africa, has been advised further rest by Dr Dinshaw Pardiwala. The 26-year-old is likely to be ready for the five-match T20I series against the same opposition from December 9. A fresh assessment will be done next week to check on his progress and chart the road ahead.
“Unfortunately Gill will not be available for selection for the three ODIs vs South Africa. He has been advised more rest by the specialists and continues to be monitored by the BCCI medical team,” said a BCCI official.In the absence of Gill and Iyer, the men’s senior selection committee will have to assemble a stop-gap leadership group for the South Africa ODIs. The likes of KL Rahul, Axar Patel and Rishabh Pant are likely to be in the mix when the selectors meet in Guwahati in the coming days.Pant hasn’t been a regular feature in the ODIs but the management wants to recalibrate their approach in the format and there will be cautious effort to have some left-handers in the mix. The current ODI batting order is right-handed dominated and the decision makers want to inject some southpaws, who can change the tempo of the game. Both Pant and Tilak Varma could be in the mix for that No. 4 spot in absence of Iyer with Yashasvi Jaiswal expected to walk straight into the playing XI in place of injured Gill.
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India’s top-six in Australia had Axar Patel as the only left-hander and the thinktank could explore some left-handed middle-order options. It could well mean a promotion for Washington Sundar too but the idea is to continue the left-right combination because regular top three – Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli – are all right-handers.On the bowling front, it will be interesting to see how selectors handle Jasprit Bumrah. It will make a lot of sense to rest India’s spearhead and keep him ready for the T20Is. India need to freeze their combinations in the shortest format and every fixture before the T20 World Cup next year will allow them that opportunity. Bumrah has now featured in last four Tests the team has played and also played the five-T20I series vs Australia. He didn’t play the ODIs vs Australia and a similar approach is likely to be followed for South Africa too.
