'It's a prank': Team India’s squad for ODIs vs South Africa leaves Indian cricket fans furious; memes and jokes galore

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the ODI squad for the home series against South Africa. KL Rahul will lead the team in Shubman Gill's absence while Yashasvi Jaiswal returns as the opener.

The team selection has infuriated many Indian cricket fans. Some wonder why Jasprit Bumrah is not paying. Some question why Mohammed Shami is given a chance. Some wonder why players like Varun Chakaravarthy, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Sanju Samson have not been given a chance.

“Rohit Sharma playing under KL Rahul is like...The Founder of the company working as an Intern under the Manager. Gambhir Era mein kuch bhi ho sakta hai. Hierarchy gayi tel lene (Anything is possible in the Gambhir Era. Hierarchy has gone for a toss),” wrote one of them.

“BCCI to KL Rahul: 'Here is the captaincy, but we took away Bumrah, Siraj, and Shami. Good luck defending 350 against Klaasen and Miller!' This isn't a squad; it's a prank. They are basically setting him up to fail so they can blame his captaincy later,” posted another.

Another user wondered, “Will Hardik Pandya ever play for the country or he will just be there for Ambani's IPL?”

“On what basis are Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rana getting constant selection in the Indian team despite not performing consistently?” asked another.

“Where is Jasprit Bumrah? Agar Bumrah Regular nhi khel skta to retirement le le (If he can't play regularly, he should retire). If Bumrah cannot play regularly, then should he retire? This is Team India, not a private limited company where you play when you feel like it and take rest when you don’t,” came from another.

Another asked the BCCI, “Have you moved on from Shami? Not even a chance?”

“I think Prasiddh Krishna must know something very personal about either Gautam Gambhir or Ajit Agarkar,” came a sarcastic comment.

Another commented, “We literally won the CT cause of Varun Chakravarty and now he can’t even make the ODI squad for a series at home?”

Team India squad for ODIs

Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Kl Rahul (C & WK), Rishabh Pant (WK), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh, Dhruv Jurel