India vs South Africa ODIs | Mukesh Kumar, Rajat Patidar earn maiden India call-up; Dhawan to lead

Uncapped Bengal seamer Mukesh Kumar and prolific domestic performer Rajat Patidar on Sunday earned their maiden India call-up for the upcoming three match ODI series against South Africa, starting October 6 in Lucknow.

Mukesh, a prolific red ball bowler for Bengal had performed just at the right time, emerging as the top wicket-taker in first-class games against New Zealand ‘A’ and followed that up with another stupendous show in Irani Cup.

Patidar, a stylish hitter, has scored centuries in IPL play offs, in the Ranji Trophy final and in “Tests” against New Zealand in last three months.

The team would be led by ODI specialist Shikhar Dhawan while Shreyas Iyer will be his deputy.

Shreyas and Deepak Chahar will link up with the T20 World Cup squad in Brisbane after the ODI series. They were named as stand-by players for the ICC flagship event. The team will train in Perth in first week.

The second and third ODIs of the series will be played on October 9 and 11 in Ranchi and Delhi respectively.

Squad: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubhman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Rajat Patidar, Rahul Tripathi, Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Shahbaz Ahmed, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan, Mohd. Siraj, Deepak Chahar.