3 players from 2018 tour who are no more a part of India’s ODI squad against South Africa in 2023 tour
SA vs IND (Source: Twitter)
India played an all-format tour in South Africa in 2017/18 and 2021/22. In the last 5 years, a lot has changed in Indian cricket. At the same time, a lot of things have remained the same. There have been many players from the 2018 tour who have remained in the current squad as well. Likewise, many players who were in the 2017 squad, are no more in the Indian team. While some of them retired from cricket, most of the other players are active in cricket and are awaiting an India call-up. Some of them played in the 2021/22 tour, but others did not even play in that tour.
India announced its squad for the 2023/24 tour of South Africa a few days back. The talent pool in the tour was so amazing to watch. Despite not playing a full-strength squad, India has still been able to send a very good squad for both T20Is and ODIs which includes many young players. Particularly in the batting department, India has very good batters who are very young and trying to establish themselves in the team. The senior players are not so fortunate to be not featured in the limited overs side, given their age and other factors.
Here are 3 such players from the 2018 tour who are no more a part of India’s ODI squad against South Africa in the 2023 tour.
3. Ajinkya Rahane
Ajinkya Rahane was one of the key players in the Indian lineup in both Tests and ODIs in the 2017/18 tour. In Tests, Rahane did not get a game in the first two Tests. In the third Test at Johannesburg, Rahane played two counterattacking knocks that helped India to script a famous win at the venue. In ODIs, Rahane got a lot more chances, compared to Tests. Rahane was one of the batters who was in the race to be India’s number 4 in the middle order in the lead-up to the ODI World Cup 2019.
In the series, Rahane played some good knocks as a batter. in the first ODI of the series, Rahane helped Virat chase down the target of 268 runs ensuring no more hiccups. In the match, Rahane scored a fifty. India won the series 5-1, as Rahane played a key role in India’s maiden bilateral ODI series win in South Africa. In 2023, Rahane is no more a regular in ODIs. The star batter has not played a limited-overs game since 2018. Rahane last played an international game in August 2023.
