The T20 series between India and South Africa has just ended and the focus has shifted to the three-match ODI series. The Men in Blue will host the Proteas for a 50-over series, starting on October 6 in Lucknow. The home side will hope to continue their dominance in white-ball cricket.

This series will provide a few players with the opportunity to stake a claim in the white-ball side with leading India players leaving for Australia for the upcoming T20 World Cup, starting October 16.

For this series, Shikhar Dhawan will be the captain of the side, while Shreyas Iyer has been named as vice-captain. The likes of Mukesh Kumar, Rajat Patidar, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Rahul Tripathi, and Shahbaz Ahmed will hope to make a case for themselves if presented with an opportunity.

Preps ✅#TeamIndia ready for the #INDvSA ODI series. 👍 👍 pic.twitter.com/5fY3m1a8lq

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 6, 2022

On that note, let’s take a look at three India players to watch out for in the ODI series.

#1 Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas Iyer has consistently performed well in his international career in all three formats of the game. However, he lost his place in the side after his problems against the short ball came out in the public.

The emergence of Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav in the last 12 months has also raised questions about Shreyas’ place in the ODI team. This series is very important for Shreyas, who will hope to make this opportunity count and seal a berth in the playing XI.

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#2 Shikhar Dhawan

Veteran batter Shikhar Dhawan has been featuring only in the ODI format of the game. The southpaw is eyeing a place in India’s 2023 World Cup squad and will have to lead the team from the front to keep himself floating.

Shikhar’s strike rate in the last few series has been low, and in this series, he will have an opportunity to improve his strike rate with leading batters not available for the series.

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#3 Sanju Samson

The ODI series against South Africa is going to be a big opportunity for wicketkeeper-batter Sanju Samson, who did not even get a chance in the reserves for the T20 World Cup.

According to many cricket experts, Sanju should have been given a chance in the Indian team for the World Cup, given his ability to tackle short-pitch deliveries on Australian wickets.

Sanju recently captained the India A team for the ODI series against New Zealand A and played some good innings there as well. This series is going to be a big opportunity for Sanju to get his ODI career on track.

Written by Parag Mogale

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