IND vs SA: Why is Rishabh Pant not playing India vs South Africa 2nd ODI? Check India playing 11
In a big breaking news development, Team India have once again not picked their premier wicket-keeper batter Rishabh Pant for the second ODI match against South Africa being hosted at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Singh International Stadium in Raipur. The KL Rahul-led side registered an amazing 17-run victory over the Proteas in the opening ODI encounter that went down the wire and Virat Kohli was the top-performer with a spectacular hundred. After taking a 1-0 lead in the IND vs SA three-match ODI series, the Men in Blue will be eyeing to seal things in their favour.
Why is Rishabh Pant not playing IND vs SA 2nd ODI?
After losing yet another toss and being asked to bat first, Indian captain KL Rahul mentioned that Rishabh Pant is still not included in the India playing XI on Wednesday. The premier wicket-keeper batter was also not included in the side for the last game in Ranchi. Incidentally, Rishabh last played ODI cricket for India in August 2024 against Sri Lanka where he managed to score just 6 runs off 9 deliveries. While talking about Rishabh Pant stats in ODI cricket, the southpaw wicket-keeper has smashed a total of 871 runs from 31 matches at an average of 33.5 and an impressive strike-rate of over 106 that includes as many as five half-centuries and one hundred.
During the India vs South Africa 1st ODI, Ruturaj Gaikwad was slotted at the No. 4 position in the IND Playing 11, however, he was dismissed cheaply after scoring 8 runs off 14 deliveries. The second ODI match will be a crucial opportunity for Gaikwad as he will be looking to leave an impact. The duo of Tilak Varma and Dhruv Jurel are also part of the India ODI squad.
"Honestly, that's the most pressure I've had because we haven't won a toss in a long time. I've been practising, but clearly it's not working. I think we did really well last game. A lot of positives from the last game, so just trying to continue that. And, come out here, play hard cricket again. They pushed us last game as well. We know what to expect. The boys are looking in good shape. And I'm excited about this game. Before the series as well, we spoke about it (dew). This is a time in India where there is a lot of dew. We're expecting dew in every place that we play. So, the bowlers have spoken about it.
A few tactics and a few things that we've spoken about, which I think we did really well in the last game. So, that'll give our bowling team a lot of confidence. Just carry from there and keep getting better. If we put runs on board and pick up a few wickets early on, then it becomes a bit easier for us. The wicket looks good. The only reason any team opt to bat second is the dew factor and not much to do with the wicket. We're playing with the same team," stated Indian captain KL Rahul during the toss.
Here's a look at our Playing XI for the 2⃣nd #INDvSA ODI 🙌#TeamIndia have named an unchanged side.
— BCCI (@BCCI) December 3, 2025
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India playing 11
Rohit Sharma
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Virat Kohli
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Washington Sundar
KL Rahul (C & wk)
Ravindra Jadeja
Harshit Rana
Kuldeep Yadav
Arshdeep Singh
Prasidh Krishna
India squad for the ODI series against South Africa
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma
