The BCCI on Sunday (October 2) announced the 16-member squad for the home ODI series against South Africa. Shikhar Dhawan was named as the captain of the side and will once again lead the team in the absence of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
The senior batsman has done the job in past as well and his appointment didn’t surprise the cricket fraternity. But it was the vice-captain’s pick which stunned many. Shreyas Iyer, a former India A captain, has been named Dhawan’s deputy.
It’s not that Iyer hasn’t been part of the leadership group at the highest level. But Sanju Samson, who recently captained India A to a 3-0 series win against New Zealand A, seemed ahead of him. The selectors decided against making any big call and named Iyer as Dhawan’s deputy.
The right-handed batsman assisted Dhawan in the ODI series against West Indies as well. Ravindra Jadeja was slated to assist Dhawan but he missed the 50-over matches in the series. Iyer was one of the senior members in that series and was named vice-captain.
Apart from India A, Iyer has captained Delhi Capitals in IPL. He now leads Kolkata Knight Riders. Under him, Delhi ended their below-par run in IPL and played their first-ever final in 2020.
The selectors have named a second-string squad in the absence of regulars. Rajat Patidar and Mukesh Kumar have earned their maiden ODI call-ups. Both the players recently represented India A against New Zealand A. Rajat has had a dream run in 2022 and was highly expected to earn a maiden call-up. He is likely to make his ODI debut in the series.
Mukesh is a right-arm pacer who plays for Bengal. He is playing for Rest of India in the ongoing Irani Cup fixture against Saurashtra. Ishan Kishan and Samson are two wicketkeepers in the squad.
