Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar picked the side's playing XI for the first ODI of the three-match series against Australia. One of the notable inclusions in his XI was Nitish Kumar Reddy, who is yet to make his debut in the format. He also made the surprising decision of snubbing Kuldeep Yadav, who was not only the highest wicket-taker of Asia Cup, but also performed well in the recently concluded Test series against West Indies.
On the other hand, Bangar chose the duo of Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as openers. They were followed by Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul in the batting order. The former batter decided to go for a bowling combination of four pacers and two spinners. He included Reddy as the fast-bowling all-rounder alongside seamers Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj and Harshit Rana. In the spin department, he opted to go for all-rounders Axar Patel and Washington Sundar.
Bangar's playing XI for 1st ODI vs Australia: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana.
Rohit and Virat's much-awaited return
Meanwhile, the upcoming one-day series between India and Australia will see the returns of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli to international cricket. The duo's last appearance for the Men in Blue came in the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy final against New Zealand in March. They were expected to play key roles in the five-match Test series against England but decided to announce their retirements from the format before it commenced. Both of them will be eager to make an impact against Australia as they make their much-awaited return to the Indian team.
India's schedule against Australia
The three-match ODI series will begin from October 19 with the first match set to be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The action will then move to the Adelaide Oval where the second match will take place on October 23, and the series finale will be contested at the Sydney Cricket Ground on October 25. Following the conclusion of this assignment, both the teams will face-off in a five-match T20I series that will begin from October 29.
India's squad for Australia ODIs: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.