Last Updated on 5 days by Charbel Coorey

While the much-awaited Test series between India and South Africa is underway, the Indian team for the ODI series is going to be declared within the next 48 hours.

Some Indian young players were outstanding performers in the Vijay Hazare Trophy (VHT -2021 and we hope that they are picked in the ODI squad because of their prolific performances. In this article, I am going to mention four such players. Here we go.

4 uncapped ODI players who could debut for India in South Africa

Venkatesh Iyer

The swashbuckling allrounder from Madhya Pradesh impressed the cricket fraternity in the IPL 2021 and subsequently made his debut for India in the T20I series against New Zealand this year.

In the 2021 Vijay Hazare Trophy, Iyer smashed 379 runs at an average of 63.17 and extraordinary strike rate of 133.92. He also picked nine wickets from five innings at an impressive economy of 5.63.

As we all know, Hardik Pandya is currently undergoing rehabilitation and therefore will miss the series. In such a scenario, India will definitely want someone who can be their finisher as well as the sixth bowler. So, Iyer’s inclusion looks almost certain to me.

Shivam Mavi

The fast bowler from Uttar Pradesh took the fourth-most wickets VHT 2021. Mavi picked up 15 wickets from seven games at a superb economy of 4.83. More importantly, he bowled really well with the new ball and troubled the top order batters with his movement and accuracy.

If India decide to rest their premier fast bowlers like Bumrah or Shami after the hectic Test series, they might draft Mavi in as a good replacement. In this way, a direct competition between Mavi and Bhuvneshwar Kumar can also be generated as the latter hasn’t been at his very best in white ball cricket for quite some time now.

Shahrukh Khan

Shahrukh Khan carried his reputation of being a supremely hard-hitter of the cricket ball in the VHT, finishing with an unbelievable strike rate of 186.02. The dynamic finisher has played some really impactful knocks coming down the order like 66 off 35 against Mumbai, 32 off 12 against Bengal, 79 off 39 against Karnataka in the quarter final and then 42 off 21 balls in the Final.

Such a string of impressive performances batting at 7 is testimony to his incredible calibre as a finisher. In the absence of their regular finishers Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, India might look to strengthen their finishing department by including Shahrukh in the squad.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

The way he is knocking the door of the Indian team by performing admirably in every single tournament, it’s becoming impossible to look beyond Ruturaj Gaikwad. The stylish opener from Maharashtra smashed 603 runs from just five innings in VHT 2021 at an insane average of 150.75 and a mind-blowing strike rate of 112.92.

The fact that he hit four centuries in these five innings is sufficient enough to imagine the kind of form he is in currently.

Looking at the age and form of Shikhar Dhawan, India might look for his alternatives in ODI format in their preparatory phase for the 2023 World Cup and there is absolutely no better option than Gaikwad available for them right now. So, its almost certain that Gaikwad will book his berth to South Africa and we might see him playing one or two ODIs there.

All the four guys mentioned in this article will have a significant role in shaping India’s future as a formidable side in white ball cricket in the upcoming years. If some or all of them get picked for the ODI series in South Africa, it will certainly provide them the much-needed exposure in the highest level.

Can you think of some other names? Have your say!          

Written by Debashish Sarangi. Follow Debashish on Twitter today