Rajat Patidar or Sai Sudharsan - who should debut for India in the 1st ODI vs South Africa?

Team India are all set to take on South Africa in a three-match ODI series, beginning on Sunday, December 17. The team will be keen to establish a white-ball series win in South Africa, particularly after a humiliating 3-0 whitewash in 2022.

While the ODI series may not hold particular significance when compared to the T20I and the Test matches, it proves to be an excellent avenue to test the bench strength as always. The majority of the squad is comprised of players who are yet to make their ODI debut or have only played a handful of matches.

The upcoming series will serve as the maiden ODI venture for the likes of Sai Sudharshan, Rajat Patidar, Rinku Singh, and Akash Deep. Furthermore, the likes of Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar are relatively new to the set-up.

Figuring out the playing XI for the clash will be a tricky one for skipper KL Rahul. Some places in the team have obvious candidates, but some slots do have multiple genuine candidates, which will need resolving. One such competition is between top-order batters Sudharsan and Patidar.

On that note, let us take a look at who should debut for India in the first ODI vs South Africa among Rajat Patidar and Sai Sudharsan.

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#1 Form

Both Patidar and Sudharsan's call-ups stem from a prolific run of form. Both batters have been brilliant of late, and have been among the runs on the domestic circuit.

Patidar made his long-awaited comeback in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and the Vijay Hazare Trophy. The right-handed batter, who missed Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023 due to a heel injury, had a prolific List A season for Madhya Pradesh, scoring four fifties in six matches.

Sudharsan made his List A debut in 2021 and now holds an average of 60 following 25 appearances. He has had a landmark year, beginning with the IPL, where he stepped in for the Gujarat Titans (GT) at No. 3 in the absence of Kane Williamson.

He was also part of the India A squad at the ACC Emerging Asia Cup. He began the Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign for Tamil Nadu with a sublime ton against Goa, but only scored 56 runs in his next four innings.

Sudarshan was not part of the team for the knockout clashes after being named for the unofficial Tests against South Africa A. He scored 14 runs while opening the innings as the contest ended in a draw.

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#2 Skillset

Patidar and Sudharsan are players who exude class and are meant to be genuine top-order batters across formats. Despite the modern frenzied nature of the game, the duo manage to hold a respectable scoring rate without compromising their batting style.

Both batters have already found success on a huge stage like the IPL with their class, and honestly, their style of play is perfect for the 50-over format. They are excellent players of both pace and spin and rotate strike quite well.

The venues in South Africa have assisted turn so far, and having strong technical players will be key for India. Given that they are good against pace bowling as well, they can negate the pace and bounce off the surfaces.

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#3 Team's need of the hour

It feels absurd to even think, but Team India face a shortage of genuine opening batters in the ODI series. With the likes of Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal focused on the Test series, India will have to field a new opening combination in the upcoming series.

With KL Rahul also designated and destined for a middle-order role, it leaves Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sai Sudharshan as the likely and only possible combination.

There is also a slight possibility across multiple fronts that both Patidar and Sudharsan could feature in the playing XI for the first ODI. Firstly, with Ruturaj Gaikwad still dealing with an illness that kept him out of the T20I series, India could go for the left-hand-right-hand combination of Patidar and Sudharsan at the top in the absence of any other opening batters.

Patidar generally bats in the middle order, but opened for Madhya Pradesh in their win over Nagaland in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, scoring an unbeaten 70 runs off just 27 deliveries.

Secondly, even if Gaikwad features at the top, Patidar can still feature in the middle order, although there is already a crowd waiting for a chance. With Shreyas and Rahul occupying the prime spots in the middle order, there is only one genuine vacancy. The likely candidates for the same are Sanju Samson and Rajat Patidar.

Who will feature in Team India's XI for the first ODI against South Africa among Rajat Patidar and Sai Sudharsan? Let us know what you think.