Who Will Be Rohit Sharma's Opening Partner? These Two Are Contenders for the ODI Series Against South Africa

India vs South Africa: The Indian team for the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa, starting November 30, has been announced. Shubman Gill has not been selected for the team due to injury. In such a situation, the biggest question for Head Coach Gautam Gambhir and Captain KL Rahul will be about Rohit Sharma's opening partner. They have two strong contenders in Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ruturaj Gaikwad. A third option could be Rahul himself, but he has played most of his career in the 50-over format at number 5 or 6. So, who among Yashasvi and Ruturaj could be better? Let's take a look.

Jaiswal vs Gaikwad for the Opener Role

It is worth noting that Yashasvi Jaiswal has played only one ODI International match so far. That match was against England in Nagpur in 2024, where he could only score 15 runs. Since then, he has either been overlooked for the ODI team or has been made to sit on the bench after being included in the team as an opening backup.

Ruturaj Has Played 6 ODIs

Talking about Ruturaj Gaikwad, he has played 6 ODI International matches so far, out of which he has opened the innings in four matches. In the 50-over format for India, he has scored 115 runs at an average of 19.2, of which 98 runs have been scored while batting in the top order. His best score in this format is 71 runs.

Current Form is Excellent

Gaikwad's List A cricket stats are also better. The CSK captain has scored 4534 runs in 89 List A matches with an average of 57.39, while this left-handed batsman has scored 1526 runs in 33 matches at an average of 52.62. Furthermore, Gaikwad is currently in the best form of his career. In the India A vs South Africa A ODI series, he scored 117, 68*, and 25 runs in three matches, and all these innings came while batting in the top order.

Gaikwad Has More Experience

Apart from having more experience, Gaikwad's form also earns him a place in the top order for India vs South Africa ODIs. Moreover, this role will not be for long, especially because Ruturaj could be dropped from the team instantly when Gill returns.

Yashasvi is the Best Option After Rohit Sharma

As far as Jaiswal is concerned, he can be tried as an opening option for the long term. After Rohit Sharma retires, he could certainly be at the forefront to open the innings with Gill. This will not only ensure that India moves forward with a left-right opening combination in mind but will also help in making a decision about this left-handed batsman, who is considered an all-format player.

Indian ODI Team

KL Rahul (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, and Dhruv Jurel.