The Indian cricket team is set to take on Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series, which will be played at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19. After winning the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 by defeating New Zealand in the final at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, this will be the first ODI in more than seven months for the Indian cricket team, and they have made a big change in the leadership group.
Shubman Gill, who captains India’s Test team, has been given the responsibility of leading the national side for the first-time in his career in the ODI format, replacing the veteran Rohit Sharma in the process. This match will also be the first international appearance, not only for Rohit Sharma but also another former
captain Virat Kohli, following the conclusion of the Champions Trophy earlier this year.
In this article, SportsTiger looks at India’s probable playing XI versus Australia for the first ODI in Perth.
Openers: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c)
Former India captain Rohit Sharma will be looking to continue his rich vein of form in ODI cricket, keeping up with his attacking play in the first powerplay stage and beyond despite not playing much cricket in the build-up. As the new skipper of the ODI team, Shubman Gill will be walking out to bat against a potent Australian pace bowling attack on what’s expected to be not an easy pitch at the Optus Stadium, and it is going to push him further to make a big statement.
Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk)
Virat Kohli has a whopping 51 ODI hundreds to his name, but the lack of game time in the build-up is something he will need to overcome to potentially get big scores in the three matches of the series. Shreyas Iyer has been one of the best batters at No. 4 for India in ODI cricket for many years, and he will be giving his best to continue the good work with the bat in hand against a very impressive Australian lineup in away conditions.
KL Rahul has been a linchpin for India in middle order in ODIs for quite some time while his wicketkeeping skills have gone up a notch as well.
All-Rounders: Axar Patel and Nitish Kumar Reddy
Axar Patel will have the task to score quick runs in the later half of the Indian innings apart from bowling an extensive spell of left-arm spin in the middle overs in particular. With Hardik Pandya ruled out of the ODI series due to injury and Ravindra Jadeja not making the cut due to being a spin bowling all-rounder, it is widely expected that Nitish Kumar Reddy, the pace bowling all-rounder, will make his debut for India in the format.
The youngster has had decent success in his short career in the Test and T20I formats, scoring his maiden international hundred in the longest format of the game against Australia at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) last year.
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh were a part of the Indian setup in the Asia Cup last month, playing a handful of matches and now, they could get a chance to play the ODIs versus Australia. Kuldeep Yadav is expected to get picked in the playing XI of India in the first ODI of the three-match series after a splendid showing in the other two formats over the past one month or so.
Mohammed Siraj returned to action for India in the home Test series against West Indies after sitting out of the Asia Cup, and he will be looking to prove his worth in white-ball cricket for the Men in Blue this month.
