IND vs SA ODIs preview: For first time in 7 years, all eyes on Virat Kohli the batter

The mighty Virat Kohlis presence in the Indian playing eleven as a mere player for the first time in seven years will be keenly followed while his potential successor in redball cricket K L Rahul will be judged for his captaincy in the threematch ODI series against South Africa beginning here on WednesdayWhether he is batting in the middle or fielding at the boundary line Kohlis every move is tracked but some of that attention will now have to be shared by RahulMore importantly will he be at his usual animated best on the field or will the cricketing world see a rather subdued Kohli after his stunning resignation from Test captaincy brought an end to his innings as official leader of the team across formatsHe did not want to leave ODI captaincy after relinquishing the role in the shortest format and it led to a war of words with the BCCI on how the entire matter was handledHis supporters and Indian cricket in general will be hoping that Kohli has put his differences with the BCCI firmly behind him and come Wednesday he starts a new innings with his willow doing most of the talking A highly desired century after two years would be cherry on topRahul who is leading the side in the absence of an injured Rohit Sharma is expected to turn to Kohli for advice during the series Not only Kohli has a major role to play as a batter but as vicecaptain Jasprit Bumrah said on the eve of the series the star will always be a leader in the teamWith the new leadership and support staff India will look to win the series with one eye on preparations for the 2023 World Cup and also make up for the disappointment of unexpectedly going down in the Tests last weekThe last time a fullstrength India played an ODI series was at home against England in March before a secondstring squad travelled to Sri Lanka in JulyRahul batted in the middleorder against England but it remains to be seen if he moves back to the top alongside Shikhar DhawanRuturaj Gaikwad who made the squad following an exceptional domestic season might have to wait longer for his ODI debutIt will be crucial three games for the seasoned Dhawan who has already lost his place in the T20 side The southpaw has thrived under pressure in the past and will be looking to solidify his position as the firstchoice opener alongside Rohit when the latter returns from injuryKohli will bat at his usual number three spot while there will be a tossup between Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer for the number four positionRishabh Pant is expected to come at number five while Venkatesh Iyer is likely to make his 50over debut as the allrounder at six having shown promise in the T20s against New Zealand The two spinners likely to play are Yuzvendra Chahal and R Ashwin who has made a comeback after more than four yearsBumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will share the load in the pace department while for the third pace option the management could pick Deepak Chahar Shardul Thakur or Prasidh KrishnaMohammad Siraj who injured his hamstring during the Test series is also fit as suggested by Bumrah on MondayOn the previous tour India hammered the hosts 51 in ODIs and they will draw confidence from thatSouth Africa will be in high spirits after a memorable victory in the fiveday formatSkipper Temba Bavuma played a few crucial in the preceding Tests and he will carry that confidence into his batting as well as his leadership Quinton de Kock who retired from Test cricket after the series opener against India starts his life as a whiteball only playerTall leftarm pacer Marco Jansen who excelled in his maiden Test series is expected to trouble the Indian batters with his extra bounce and variations in the short format after earning a maiden callupIf Tests were any indication the ODIs would be an intenselyfought affairSquadsIndia KL Rahul captain Jasprit Bumrah Shikhar Dhawan Ruturaj Gaikwad Virat Kohli Suryakumar Yadav Shreyas Iyer Venkatesh Iyer Rishabh Pant wicketkeeper Ishan Kishan wicketkeeper Yuzvendra Chahal R Ashwin Bhuvneshwar Kumar Deepak Chahar Prasidh Krishna Shardul Thakur Md Siraj Jayant Yadav Navdeep SainiSouth Africa Temba Bavuma captain Keshav Maharaj Quinton de Kock wicketkeeper Zubayr Hamza Marco Jansen Janneman Malan Sisanda Magala Aiden Markram David Miller Lungi Ngidi Wayne Parnell Andile Phehlukwayo Dwaine Pretorius Kagiso Rabada Tabraiz Shamsi Rassie van der Dussen Kyle VerreynneMatch starts 2 PM ISTThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for the dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the contents in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever