India is set to face Australia in a much-anticipated ODI series, with the fixtures drawing attention due to high-profile player comebacks.
Both teams will use these matches as vital preparation for upcoming global tournaments and to fine-tune their ODI squads, ensuring competitive action and keen selection battles throughout the series.
Indian ODI Squad News
The latest reports indicate that Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are set to return to India's ODI lineup for the series against Australia, restoring experience and leadership at the top of the order. Rohit Sharma is expected to captain the side, reinforcing his status as the preferred leader in the format.
Sanju Samson In, No Shubman Gill
Jasprit Bumrah and Shubman Gill are likely to be rested for this series to help manage their playing workload
following a busy season, which included Tests against England, the Asia Cup, and the West Indies home series. The selectors may choose either Abhishek Sharma or Yashasvi Jaiswal to open alongside Rohit, giving promising young players an opportunity to step up.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are expected to miss the ODI fixtures due to injuries. The selectors are thus considering Nitish Kumar Reddy as Pandya's potential replacement in the squad, providing a fresh option for the all-rounder role.
Sanju Samson, who has made notable contributions for India in recent ODIs, is tipped to secure the second wicketkeeper spot behind KL Rahul, who remains the first-choice keeper-batter for the series. Samson's impressive statistics-510 runs in 16 ODIs at an average of 56.7 and a strike rate near 100-make him a strong contender for more regular opportunities.
India Likely ODI Squad vs Australia
Rohit Sharma (c), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Harshit Rana, Prasidh Krishna.
