Ranchi (Jharkhand) [India], November 29 (ANI): KL Rahul said that having the likes of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma back in the team makes the dressing room feel confident, ahead of the India vs South Africa ODI series, set to kick off from November 30 at the JSCA Stadium in Ranchi.

Speaking at the pre-match press conference, KL Rahul, who is going to lead the Indian team in the absence of the designated captain, Shubman Gill, emphasised the immense value of having senior players like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the team. He said their presence and experience boost the dressing room's confidence and support younger players.

'Their importance at any point is huge. To have senior players in the team obviously makes the dressing room feel a lot more confident. Just having their presence and experience helps out a lot of players in the dressing room and helps out the team. So, we're really happy that they're here,' Rahul said.

'Winning is the most important thing. That's what we're trying to focus on and try and forget what happened a week ago and focus on the game tomorrow and see how we can put in a collective performance which helps us get a victory and then go on from here to the next venue and see how we can do that again and try and win this series. So, that's the most important thing and that's what we're thinking about. Obviously, having a settled team helps and having some similar faces helps the dressing room as well,' the right-hand batter said.

Rahul praised Virat Kohli's ability to rotate strike, noting that taking singles is as important as hitting boundaries in ODI and Test cricket. He said Kohli has mastered this skill, and younger players, including himself, often learn from both Kohli and Rohit Sharma about improving strike rotation.

'Taking singles is as important as hitting boundaries in ODI cricket and in Test match cricket, maybe not as much in T20 format. That's something that Virat has done so well over his career. It's something that we've looked at Virat and tried to learn. Even in the dressing room, we all talked to him and Rohit about how we can get better as batsmen, how we can rotate the strike a lot more. He's obviously the master at doing that in ODI cricket. So, we're really happy that he's back in the dressing room and he's very excited to be here and play these games,' he said.

In the ODI series, after the first match in Ranchi, both teams will clash in Raipur, followed by the final game in Visakhapatnam. The Men in Blue will look to bounce back in the ODIs after a disappointing 2-0 defeat in the Test series. (ANI)