Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], November 29 (ANI): India's stand-in captain KL Rahul on Saturday said he would be delighted if former India captain MS Dhoni came to watch the first ODI against South Africa in Ranchi.

The opening match of the three-game ODI series will take place on November 30 in Ranchi, Dhoni's hometown.

During the pre-match press conference, the stand-in India captain was asked if MS Dhoni could attend the game and what impact his presence might have on the team and the crowd. In response, Rahul recalled his early playing days under 'Captain Cool'.

'We've all played under MS Dhoni. We've all been his fans and played together so we're all friends. It's a happy opportunity to know someone as big as MS and someone who's so successful as an Indian player. We have all respected him as a human being,' Rahul said.

'So if he also comes to watch the match the crowd and we will get more excited. The excitement will increase. He's happy and the crowd will come and we'll have fun playing here. Hopefully, we can win the game and put up a good performance and entertain the crowd and MS Dhoni too. He'll also feel happy that we won the game,' he added.

Rahul will lead India in the ODI series against South Africa as regular ODI captain Shubman Gill has been ruled out.

Gill suffered an injury on Day 2 of the Kolkata Test. He retired hurt after facing only three balls and was later taken to hospital. He has not recovered in time and will continue his medical evaluation in Mumbai.

The Indian squad for the ODI series includes Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul (Captain) (Wicketkeeper), Rishabh Pant (Wicketkeeper), Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Dhruv Jurel. (ANI)