Revealed: Why is Temba Bavuma not playing today's match against India in Ranchi?

As the first ODI proceedings began in Ranchi, Aiden Markram and KL Rahul, the two skippers, made it to the middle for the toss. Temba Bavuma, the South African skipper, is not playing the game, as he has been rested for the first ODI.

India and South Africa have begun their ODI campaign with the first match at the JSCA Cricket Stadium in Ranchi. This is KL Rahul's 13th match as India's stand-in skipper, as he has led in 12 matches and has won 8 of them.

After the first ODI in Ranchi, India and South Africa will advance to Raipur and then to Vishakhapatnam for the two remaining matches in the tour. They will then have a T20I series starting from the 9th of December.

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Why is Temba Bavuma not playing the Ranchi ODI? - Revealed

As the two captains were called in for the toss, Aiden Markram from South Africa made his way to the middle alongside Indian skipper KL Rahul, who has been appointed as Shubman Gill's replacement in the series.

Bavuma has been rested for this match, as the stand-in skipper Aiden Markram informed. He also informed that Keshav Maharaj has also been rested and Prenelan Subrayen has been picked as the sole spinner in the side.

However, India has had another major upset as they have lost their 19th consecutive toss in ODI cricket. Markram opted to bowl first and said that the dew in the evening would facilitate batting.

South Africa Playing XI: Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram (c), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, and Ottneil Baartman.

India has replaced Shreyas Iyer with Ruturaj Gaikwad

India has replaced Shreyas Iyer, the vice-captain, with the Maharashtra skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad, who showed convincing form in the unofficial ODI games against South Africa A. Ruturaj Gaikwad scored a half-century and a stunning hundred and finished as the player of the series.

Shreyas suffered from a laceration injury and has been ruled out for the next four months. Hence, if Gaikwad can look promising in the no. 4 spot in the ODI format, then it is likely that he might be playing with India in the long run.

Rishabh Pant has been snubbed in his ODI return

India named Rishabh Pant in their squad for the ODI series against South Africa. With Axar Patel's absence from the Indian team, it was considered that he might finally be making his return to ODI cricket after his last appearance in the Sri Lanka ODIs back in 2024.

India has gone with an additional spin option, as they placed Washington Sundar in at no. 5 as Axar Patel's replacement, and Ravindra Jadeja too makes a comeback into the Indian ODI side. India has gone for a fine blend, as they also picked the likes of Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh, all three seamers for the First ODI.

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