Former Australia captain Aaron Finch believes the Men in Gold will enjoy a slight edge and beat India 2-1 in the upcoming three-match ODI series down under. Finch said the two heavyweights always enjoy ‘great
battles’ which should continue given how ‘evenly matched’ they are, making it a great spectacle.
Australia are the World Champions and will host India at Perth, Adelaide, and Sydney, respectively, between October 19-25. A five-match T20I series will follow, which would be relevant as a preparation for the next year’s T20 World Cup, but the ODI rubber will mark the return of two of India’s most popular cricketers, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as they fight to keep their place in the team.
“It will be a great series. It always is against India and I think having Virat back in there brings out the best in him against Australia,” Finch told the ICC. “It’s always a great battle when you look at it on paper as it’s very evenly matched, but I’d say Australia (win the series) 2-1. Not confidently though as India are a great side and it will just be a great series to watch.”
India have made some big calls ahead of the tour, removing Rohit, who won the 2025 Champions Trophy as the captain earlier this year, and appointing Shubman Gill the leader.
“Shubman has already shown what a good leader he is in T20 cricket and Test cricket, so I’m sure this will be no different,” Finch said.
The former Aussie opener remarked that though Rohit and Kohli are no longer in leadership roles, their expeirence would still hold value to the team.
“I think just having those guys there will be a real calmness for him as well, because it’s the ability to bounce ideas, both on and off the field, on how you want the team to function going forward,” Finch said.
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.
