India's predicted playing XI for the 1st ODI vs South Africa ft. Ruturaj Gaikwad & Washington Sundar

India are all set to face off against South Africa in a three-match ODI series. The opening encounter will be contested in Ranchi on Sunday, November 30.

The Men in Blue are on the back of a 2-1 ODI series loss to Australia. For this series, they will be without a number of their first-choice players in the format. Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer are just some of the key names who won't be in action.

India squad for the South Africa ODI series: KL Rahul (c), Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rishabh Pant, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel.

On that note, here is India's predicted playing XI for the first ODI against South Africa.

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Openers: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma

Australia v India - ODI Series: Game 3 - Source: Getty

Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal are expected to open the batting for India against South Africa. The duo know a thing or two about batting together, having been the team's first-choice Test combination for a while. Jaiswal will want to give a good account of himself, and the same goes for Rohit.

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Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (c & wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar

Australia v India - ODI Series: Game 3 - Source: Getty

Virat Kohli will, as expected, bat at No. 3. As far as the No. 4 spot goes, India have a few choices. Reports suggest that Ruturaj Gaikwad could feature at the position, with Rishabh Pant dropping to the bench. While having a left-hander who can belt sixes would be a good option, Gaikwad has been in excellent form lately.

Captain KL Rahul has confirmed that he will bat at No. 6, so either Nitish Kumar Reddy or Washington Sundar could feature at No. 5. In Axar Patel's absence, Ravindra Jadeja will probably play as the frontline finisher. India's middle order is likely to be flexible in terms of batting positions.

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Lower Order: Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna

Australia v India - T20 Series: Game 4 - Source: Getty

Kuldeep Yadav should never be dropped from an ODI playing XI, but India need enough batting options and fast bowlers. Reddy hasn't done enough to warrant being picked as the third seamer, so the final spot in the side could be a toss-up between him and Kuldeep.

Given Gautam Gambhir's insistence on having batting until No. 8, Kuldeep could be sacrificed, although that wouldn't be the right call. The threat of dew hangs over Ranchi, so India might want all three pacers - Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Prasidh Krishna.