Rohit Sharma on cusp of scripting history during ODI series vs SA, set to join Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid in elite list

Former India captain Rohit Sharma is on the verge of clocking a historic milestone, as he is set to become only the fourth Indian batter to reach 20,000 runs in international cricket. Rohit, who currently has 19,902 international runs across 502 matches, is set to return to the field for India's three-match ODI series against South Africa, which is scheduled to kick off from November 30 at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi.

Rohit Sharma on brink of completing 20000 international runs

His international aggregate includes 4,301 runs in 67 Tests, 4,231 runs in T20 Internationals, and a substantial 11,370 runs in ODIs. Needing just 98 more runs, he is close to joining an elite list that presently features cricketing legends Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, and Rahul Dravid. Tendulkar leads this group with 34,357 runs, followed by Kohli with 27,673 runs, and Dravid with 24,064 runs.

ALSO READ: Morne Morkel confirms Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma's participation in 2027 ODI World Cup, says 'They’ve won trophies, they know how to...'

Hitman has narrowed his focus to one format, having retired from T20Is following the 2024 World Cup and stepping away from Test cricket in May. After the South Africa series, Rohit is expected to feature in the subsequent ODI series against New Zealand at home. He enters the South Africa series on the back of a strong performance against Australia in Sydney, where he scored an unbeaten 121 off 125 balls, helping India secure a consolation victory after trailing 2-0 in the three-match ODI series. That match-winning innings included 13 boundaries and three sixes.

All eyes on RO-KO in India vs South Africa ODI series

Virat Kohli too has limited himself to ODIs, is also set to make his return to action for India against South Africa. Both senior players will be under pressure to perform, as the Indian team looks to quickly boost their morale after suffering a painful 0-2 loss against Proteas in the Test series.

ALSO READ: 'With Rohit, Virat coming in, we are...': India coach fires 'RO-KO' warning to Proteas ahead of IND vs SA first ODI

India’s ODI squad:

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

South Africa ODI squad:

Temba Bavuma (Captain), Ottneil Baartman, Corbin Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Quinton de Kock, Tony de Zorzi, Rubin Hermann, Keshav Maharaja, Marco Jansen, Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Prenelan Subrayen