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South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the ODI series against India as he continues to recover from a hip injury which kept him out of the ongoing three-match Test series as well. All-rounder Marco Jansen was included in the 17-man squad for the three-match series, which was announced on Sunday.

Jansen had made his international debut in the first Test in Centurion last month as a replacement for Nortje and picked five wickets across the two innings.

Meanwhile, former captain Faf du Plessis remains omitted from the South African limited overs squads. Du Plessis last played for South Africa in a Test match against Pakistan in Rawalpindi in February 2021. He went on to retire from Test cricket but he was not selected in the South African squad for the T20 World Cup despite his impressive performances in T20 leagues around the world, especially the Indian Premier League (IPL), which was played just a month before the World Cup at the same venues.

Captain Rohit Sharma was on Friday ruled out of India’s upcoming ODI series in South Africa due to a hamstring injury, forcing the selectors to appoint KL Rahul as skipper of an 18-member team for the white-ball leg of the tour.

All-rounder Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were also not selected as they were not fit while senior pacer Mohammed Shami, who is in the team for the ongoing Test series, was rested. Pacer Jasprit Bumrah was named as vice-captain of the team.

“Rohit is not fit, he is in rehab. We never wanted to take chance with him,’ BCCI chairman of selectors Chetan Sharma said.

It’s been almost a week since veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Ever since he hung up his boots, the ‘Turbanator’ has been raising eyebrows with his comments regarding the BCCI’s mistreatment of the senior players like him who were thrown out of the team without any explanation.

The official announcement of his retirement might have come just a few days back but deep down even Bhajji knew that his international career was all but over a long time back. Days after accusing the Indian cricket board of mistreating the senior players, the spin wizard has now pointed fingers at former skipper MS Dhoni and explained what role the wicket-keeper batter could have played in bringing his international career to a sad end.

A new statue of Cristiano Ronaldo in Goa, a state on the west coast of India, is generating controversy.

Local officials have said the statue in the city of Calangute is meant to inspire local youth to follow his path to footballing stardom.

But others have objected to the bust of the Manchester United star, saying it is a reminder of Goa's colonial past and imploring officials to consider a statue of an Indian football hero instead.

"This is for the first time that the statue of Cristiano Ronaldo has come up in India. This is nothing but to inspire our youth," Goa minister Michael Lobo told ANI.

Just when you thought that South Africa have produced a remarkable turnaround in the ongoing Test in Centurion, the Indian seam attack led by Mohammed Shami put the contest back into India's favour as the visitors finished Day 3 with a commanding lead of 146 runs. The 31-year-old pacer returned with a five-wicket haul and in the process, eclipsed the 200-wicket milestone in Tests. 

Sharing his views on what will be the ideal target for Proteas with two days remaining in the match and rain threat looming large, Shami said India will aim to add another 250 runs on the board.