IND v SA 2025: Shubman Gill likely to miss South Africa ODIs; KL Rahul and Rishabh Pant possible candidates for captaincy- Report

India ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is reportedly ruled out of action for 2-3 months

India ODI captain Shubman Gill is all but ruled out of the upcoming three-match ODI series against South Africa that begins on November 30. Gill had retired hurt on day two of the first Test between India and South Africa in Kolkata, after suffering a neck sprain.

He was ruled out of that Test match and was admitted to the hospital for treatment. While he did fly to Guwahati with the Indian team for the second test, the BCCI medical team concluded that Gill needed more medical attention and was ruled out of the second test.

Now PTI has reported that as per BCCI sources, Gill's injury isn't exactly restricted to neck spasm. He would require extensive rest, and hence Indian team management wouldn't want to risk rushing him back to action.

This means, more or less, Gill will miss the ODI series against South Africa, and BCCI will hope that he gets fit in time for the five-match T20I series. He is currently in Mumbai, where he is undergoing medical tests, including an MRI, to determine the extent of the injury.

"All tests are being done to ascertain whether it is a muscular injury or there is a nerve tissue-related niggle, which would require some more rest. As of now, selectors will be hoping he gets fit for the South Africa T20Is," PTI quoted BCCI sources as saying.

India ODI vice-captain Shreyas Iyer is also out of action due to his spleen injury, and with Gill also set to miss the ODI series, two names are floating for captaincy roles for the South Africa ODI series.

The names of wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and senior player KL Rahul could be considered for the stop-gap captaincy; however, veteran Rohit Sharma is also in the squad.

Rahul is the preferred keeper, but Pant, who is presently guiding India in the second Test, has only participated in one 50-over match in the past year. Rahul seems like a better option for a one-off series.

In Shubman Gill’s absence, Yashasvi Jaiswal is likely to open the innings with Rohit Sharma, and Abhishek Sharma is likely to be the reserve opener for the ODI series.

Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh are set to man the pace department, with Akash Deep being an outside contender. Jasprit Bumrah is likely to be rested for the ODI series and is expected to play only T20Is till the T20 World Cup next year.

Kuldeep Yadav may take time off for personal reasons, while Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, and Washington Sundar will form the spin attack.

(PTI inputs)