IND vs SA 1st ODI: Big blow for South Africa as THIS CSK all-rounder ruled out of series vs India

Source: Twitter

Even before the first ball was bowled in the India vs South Africa ODI series, Proteas men received a huge blow as their ace all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius was declared unfit to play the match and was ruled out of the not just the match but also the series on Thursday (October 6). "All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against India and the proceeding ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to a fracture of his left thumb," read a statement from Cricket South Africa. This is a big blow as the all-rounder, who also plays for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in Indian Premier League (IPL), as he could have been a crucial player in the series vs India. Not to forget, South Africa have already lost the T20I series vs India two days ago.

India captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and opted to bowl in the rain-hit first ODI against South Africa here on Thursday. Due to rain delay of more than two hours, the match will be a 40-over-a-side affair. Ruturaj Gaikwad will be making his ODI debut today. 

Temba Bavuma, said at the toss: "We would have liked to bowl first as well. We have a job to do with the bat and we need to adapt accordingly after the first few overs. You gotta be able to adapt to different formats quickly and we still want to keep those T20 skills in check. Every game for us is a big opportunity. Malan is back at the top, Klaasen is back in the middle and also Shamsi is back."

#PROTEAS SQUAD UPDATE _

All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against India and the proceeding ICC Men's T20 World Cup due to a fracture of his left thumb.#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/SZqvx0x5Ro

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 6, 2022

Shikhar Dhawan, India captain, said, "We would like to field first. There is a bit of moisture on the wicket and we want to exploit that. We got 6 batters and 5 bowlers playing. Ruturaj is making his debut today. 2 spinners and 3 pacers."

The Teams:

South Africa: Temba Bavuma (c), Janneman Malan, Quinton de Kock (wk), Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Tabraiz Shamsi.

India: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Sanju Samson (wk), Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.