4 Indian players who might be dropped for the ODI series against South Africa

Having won the T20I series, the Men in Blue were expected to continue their dominance in the 50-over format as well. But the results did not go in their favour during the just-concluded three-match ODI series against the hosts which they lost 3-0.

Despite scoring a mammoth 347-4, India suffered a four-wicket defeat at Seddon Park in the opening game. Needing a win to stay alive in the series, Virat Kohli’s men were bundled out for 251 runs in the next fixture at Auckland while chasing 274 runs and it enabled the Blackcaps to take an unassailable 2-0 lead before heading to Mount Maunganui for the third and final game of the series. A determined Team India looking to avoid a series whitewash, managed 296 runs batting first at Bay Oval.

But that wasn’t enough as Kane Williamson’s men chased it down in just 47.1 overs at the loss of five wickets to clinch the series 3-0 thereby inflicting a rare ODI series whitewash on Team India. India’s next ODI assignment will be the three-match series against South Africa at home next month.

The series which begins on March 12 at HPCA stadium in Dharamsala with the hosts taking on the Proteas will be heading to Lucknow and Kolkata for the remaining fixtures. But several players from the current Indian squad might be left out for the much-anticipated series against Quinton de Kock’s men given their form and squad balance.

Here’s a look at four Indian players who might be left out for the ODI series against South Africa:

1. Mayank Agarwal

Though it was his debut ODI series, a lot was expected from Mayank Agarwal given his batting credentials. The 28-year-old who was roped in as a replacement to the injured Indian limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma has a proven track-record in List A cricket with 4035 runs to his name and has even performed well in List A cricket outside India.

Given his exploits in the Test matches over the past year or so, the Karnataka batsman was expected to continue his impressive run in ODIs as well. But, Mayank’s performance turned out to be a disappointment for the team management as well as fans since he managed just 36 runs in the series against New Zealand (scored 32, 3 and 1 in first, second and third ODIs respectively).

With exactly a month to go for the next ODI assignment, Hitman who was ruled out of the ODI, as well as the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, might make his much-awaited comeback against Proteas. Another debutant, Prithvi Shaw who opened the batting alongside Mayank looked promising with the scores of 20, 24 and 40. With Shikhar Dhawan unlikely to return next month, young Prithvi Shaw might be retained in the squad against South Africa ahead of Mayank Agarwal who is likely to face the axe.