Indian playing XI from Rohit Sharma's first ODI match as captain - Where are they now?

Rohit Sharma has officially replaced Virat Kohli as the Indian team's white-ball skipper. The BCCI announced the big change via a press release a few days ago.

According to reports, the BCCI gave Virat Kohli two days to voluntarily step down as ODI skipper. However, Kohli did not do so, which led to the BCCI directly announcing Rohit Sharma as the new ODI skipper.

Sharma's first ODI series as India's full-time captain will be against South Africa in early 2022. Fans should note that Sharma has captained the Indian team 10 times in ODIs before, where the Men in Blue emerged victorious on eight occasions.

Interestingly though, one of the only two defeats India suffered under Rohit Sharma's captaincy was on his ODI captaincy debut. Rohit led India for the first time in an ODI match on December 10, 2017 against Sri Lanka in Dharamsala, which the hosts lost by seven wickets.

Four years have passed since that match and a lot of things have changed in Indian cricket. On that note, we will look at the Indian playing XI from that match and where those players are now.

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Openers - Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan

Rohit Sharma in action during his first game as the Indian ODI captain (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Rohit Sharma lost his first toss as the Indian ODI skipper and received an invitation to bat first. India got off to a horrendous start in Dharamsala as both Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan were out when the team's score was two.

Angelo Mathews trapped Shikhar Dhawan in front of his stumps before he could open his account, while Rohit Sharma was out caught behind off Suranga Lakmal.

Both Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are still actively playing ODIs for India. They are likely to open for India in the upcoming ODIs against South Africa.

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Middle Order - Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey and MS Dhoni (wk)

MS Dhoni was the top-scorer in Rohit Sharma's first ODI as the Indian captain. The trio of Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik and Manish Pandey failed to get going in Dharamsala, managing a total of 11 runs only. Karthik faced 18 deliveries but failed to open his account.

India were 29/7 at one point, but MS Dhoni came to the team's rescue. His 87-ball 65 helped India cross the 100-run mark.

Out of the four players, only Iyer is currently a regular member of Team India. Karthik and Pandey have lost their spots, while Dhoni has retired.

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All Rounder - Hardik Pandya

Hardik Pandya (C) was the only all-rounder in Rohit Sharma's first match as the Indian ODI captain (Image Courtesy: BCCI)

Hardik Pandya was the only all-rounder in that Indian playing XI. He scored 10 runs off as many deliveries and picked up one wicket in that game.

The Baroda-based star played many games for the Indian team in 2021, but he was not picked for the home series against New Zealand. His injury has had a huge impact on his career. As per reports, Hardik has asked for some time off from the selection committee so that he can work on his fitness and play as a complete all-rounder.

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Bowlers - Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal

India lost that match by seven wickets. Sri Lanka chased the 113-run target in 20.4 overs, and Rohit Sharma could not even use his wrist-spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the bowling department. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah scalped one wicket each in that game.

Yadav and Chahal have lost their spots in the Indian team, while Kumar and Bumrah are regular fixtures in the squad. Bumrah is the only bowler who plays all three formats of the game regularly for India.