India’s stand-in skipper KL Rahul expects the spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Yuzvendra Chahal to trouble the South Africa batters in the upcoming ODI series on the slower, lower pitch at Boland Park.

The first two games of the three-ODI series will be played at Boland Park, Paarl while Cape Town is due to host the final match.

India had to counter the pace and bounce in their 2-1 Test series loss to South Africa, but will find conditions more like home in Paarl.

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"We have practiced for a couple of days at Boland Park and the pitch does look like it might offer a lot more for the spinners than what we saw in the Test series," Rahul told reporters on the eve of the first ODI.

"We have quality spinners. Ashwin is coming back into the one-day team and we all know what quality he brings. And Chahal has been a great performer for us for a number of years. If there is any help from the pitch, I know these two can exploit it. So they become really important for us."

Team India have not picked a full-strength squad for an ODI series since their 2-1 home win over England in March 2021.

Rohit Sharma has taken over the white-ball captaincy from Virat Kohli but the former is not participating in this series due to a hamstring injury.

In his absence, Rahul will be leading the Indian ODI team against South Africa while Jasprit Bumrah will perform the role of his deputy.

"We have sat down as a team and had an honest talk about what are the things we can improve and what can we get better at. Everyone is committed to it. We have the World Cup in mind and we have a process we have all decided to follow," Rahul said.

"All these games become really important for us to go out there and try and grow as a team, and do all the things that we spoke about.

"We won't be a team that is scared to try a few things because our focus is on the World Cup and to try and get the best team out on the park."

(With Reuters inputs)