Picture Credit: Twitter
Even as the ongoing Test series between South Africa and India is nearing its climactic end, a few eyeballs have already turned towards what's in store in the ODIs. Post the three Tests, the two teams are also set to play as many ODIs and while there were also T20Is originally on this tour, they will be played at a later stage.
In a big update with regards to the white-ball leg of the tour, the members of the Indian team who were not part of the Test squad and were practicing in Bengaluru, have boarded the flight to South Africa. The same was confirmed after pictures surfaced on the Internet through verified sources.
Indian Premier League franchise Mumbai Indians was one of the earliest to share a picture of the South Africa-bound team.
"Bon voyage boys Waving hand #TeamIndia on their way to Flag of South Africa for the ODI series. Flexed biceps #OneFamily #SAvIND," the post was captioned.
Check out the picture here:
Later, travelling members of the side also took to social media to share their pictures.
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(Picture Credit: Instagram)[/caption]
Notably, in the absence of Rohit Sharma, it is KL Rahul who has been handed the captaincy for the ODI leg. In addition, in a move that surprised many experts and fans, Jasprit Bumrah was named his deputy ahead of options like Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant who at least have some leadership experience in the IPL and domestic cricket circuit.
Former India cricketer Saba Karim also opined on the same issue and said that he was hoping Rishabh Pant will be named the vice-captain.
"I was extremely surprised, I was not expecting Jasprit Bumrah to be made the vice-captain," Karim told India News.
"I was hoping that Rishabh Pant had more chances to be made the vice-captain because he is also a multi-format player, he plays all three formats," he added.
"Pant's performances as captain of the Delhi Capitals have been very good. We are seeing how he reads the match, he has a lot of game awareness," he further said.
India’s 18-member squad for ODI series vs South Africa: KL Rahul (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, R Ashwin, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Buvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur, Mohammad Siraj