Why Rishabh Pant is Not Playing Today in IND vs SA 1st ODI?

India takes on South Africa in the first ODI match on November 30 in Ranchi. Yet again, the Men in Blue have lost the toss and will have to bat first in the match. There are many changes the Indian team has made in their playing XI for the match. The pitch conditions look favourable for both batters and bowlers, which will make the game even more interesting to watch.

Why Rishabh Pant is Not Playing Today?

India has made one major change in the form of dropping Rishabh Pant from the playing XI. While this wasn't anticipated, Pant couldn't find a place in the team since KL Rahul is already there as a wicketkeeper. Moreover, Ruturaj Gaikwad is in incredible form, and the team wanted to channelize him in the ODI series, which is the main reason Rishabh Pant not playing today.

There is no Rishabh Pant injury update in the ongoing IND vs SA 1st ODI match. He was seen batting in the nets before the match. The management has taken a strong decision to drop Pant as he is one of the best wicketkeepers in India. While he is not much of a reliable player, he has won numerous games for India. After losing the Test series, this upcoming ODI series becomes even more important for India and KL Rahul to prove a point to the selectors that he can be a captaincy choice as well.

This isn't the first time he has captained the Indian team. He has played many matches for the country and has won them as well. Hence, the responsibility on him will be huge this time. The fans will love to watch KL Rahul bat and help India win the series as well.

India's Toss Horror Continues

The Indian cricket team captains have one thing in common across formats: losing the toss. Now, India has lost the toss in 19 consecutive ODIs, and this run that started with the World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad. Not just in ODIs, India lost the toss in Tests and T20Is as well which is extremely disappointing. In the first ODI against South Africa, even though India had a new captain, KL Rahul, the toss horror continued. India were forced to bat first in the match which is not something Rahul wanted to do.

However, with Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, and players in the team, the home team will look to go past 300+ runs in the first innings. Putting up a good total will only help India win the match since South Africa have a wonderful team as well. However, Temba Bavuma is rested and Aiden Markram has taken over the team's charge. Some players like Marco Jansen, Dewald Brevis, and others are included in the team. All the players have good experience in playing in India, so will be looking forward to utilising all the experience in the ODI series, where some of the best ODI batsman in the world are taking part.