India’s stand-in captain, KL Rahul has confirmed that he would be opening the innings in the ODI series against South Africa scheduled to begin on Wednesday (January 19, 2022) in Paarl.
"The last 14-15 months I have batted at 4, 5, different positions, where the team needed me. With Rohit not being here, I will bat at the top," Rahul told reporters. "I'm not someone who has a lot of plans and targets. I like to take one game at a time. That's how I've played my cricket and that's how I'll look to lead the team.”
Rahul will be leading the team in Rohit Sharma’s absence as the new limited-overs skipper was ruled out of the tour to South Africa with injury. Sharma was handed over the white-ball captaincy after Kohli stepped down from the post in T20Is while the selectors weren’t really in favour of having two limited-overs captains.
Talking about his role as the leader, KL said that he has played under the likes of MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and will use the learnings as he leads the team.
"I have played under great captains like MS Dhoni and Virat Kohli and hopefully I will use the learnings when I captain the team. I will make mistakes along the way but I will learn and get better," he said.