India National Cricket Team vs South Africa National Cricket Team Match: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma is not part of the playing XI for the first ODI against India at JSCA International Stadium on Sunday. In his absence, Aiden Markram is leading the Proteas. Speaking at the toss, Markram said Bavuma is resting for the series opener. “Just one spinner in Subrayen. I will bowl a bit. Temba and Maharaj have been rested. Four seamers for us today,” he said.
Markram will bat at No. 3 while two left-handed wicketkeeper-batters, Ryan Rickelton and Quinton de Kock, will open the innings. After winning the toss, Markram opted to field first. The side also rested spinner Keshav Maharaj, who had featured in both Test matches.
Bavuma recently led the Proteas to a 2-0 Test series win in India, the nation’s first series win in the country since 2000. He also captained South Africa to victory in the ICC World Test Championship in June 2025.
KL Rahul is leading Team India in the absence of regular captain Shubman Gill. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to the ODI side after last playing in the series against Australia. Ruturaj Gaikwad has been included in the playing XI for the series opener.
IND vs SA 1st ODI Playing XIs
South Africa (Playing XI): Ryan Rickelton, Quinton de Kock(w), Aiden Markram(c), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
