Virat Kohli arrived in Ranchi on Wednesday morning ahead of the first One-Day International against South Africa.
Saurabh Tiwary, his team-mate in the 2008 Under-19 World Cup and at Royal Challengers Bengaluru, was there to receive the batting great at Birsa Munda airport.
The other fixtures in the three-match series are in Raipur on December 3, and in Visakhapatnam on December 6.
Kohli's most recent outing -- the third ODI against Australia, at the Sydney Cricket Ground last month -- was memorable.
While Rohit Sharma delivered scored 121 not out off 125 deliveries in the match, Kohli anchored the innings with a composed, unbeaten 74 off 81 balls as India easily chased down 237 runs for a nine-wicket victory.
India's batting sensation has a string of milestones to his name in ODIs: Second-highest run-getter of all-time and fastest to 8,000, 9,000, 10,000, 11,000, 12,000, 13,000 and 14,000 runs in the format's history.
He has 51 centuries, the most by a player in the format, after 305 ODIs, including 14,255 runs.
India will be led by K L Rahul in the ODIs, as designated skipper Shubman Gill is indisposed after suffering a neck injury during the first Test against South Africa in Kolkata.