Here is a brief preview of the three-match ODI series between India and Australia that will begin on March 17, including the schedule, venue, and squads.
Rohit Sharma’s Team India will rekindle their white-ball rivalry with Australia in the action-packed One Day Internationals after claiming a thrilling 2-1 series victory against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
As part of their current tour, the two-time world champions India will face the Australian team in up to three ODIs. The opening match of the three-match ODI series will be played on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. The following two games will be played on March 19 and 22 in Visakhapatnam and Chennai, respectively.
Hardik will lead India in the first ODI match in Rohit’s absence
Rohit Sharma, who led India to victory over Australia in the test series, won’t be available for the first ODI. Due to personal reasons, the Indian captain withdrew from the first game of the series, which will be played at his home ground, but he will appear in the following two games.
Although the cause of his absence is undisclosed, media reports suggest he would be missing the game because of his brother-in-law’s wedding. Amidst Rohit’s absence, Hardik Pandya will lead India in the first ODI of the series on Friday at the Wankhede Stadium.
Steve Smith will lead Australia in the ODI series as Cummins stays home
Pat Cummins, the Australian team’s captain, will also be absent from the ODI series, giving star Australian Batsman Steve Smith another chance to serve as the team’s captain. Pat Cummins decided to stay at home to be with his family after recently losing his mother to sickness. Before the third Test began, Cummins had returned to Australia, missing two of the four games of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.
David Warner, the team’s explosive opening batsman who flew to Australia after the second Test owing to an elbow injury, will return for the ODI series. Additionally, the Australians will have some ODI specialists in the squad as well, including Josh Inglis, Adam Zampa, Mitchell Marsh, Sean Abbott, Glenn Maxwell, and Ashton Agar.
Smith served as Australia’s captain for the final two Test matches in Cummins’ absence. Smith led Australia to a comeback victory in Indore after the tourists had suffered crushing defeats in Nagpur and Delhi to fall behind 2-0.
Shreyas Iyer will miss the ODI series
The Indian Batsman Shreyas Iyer would be absent for the entire ODI series against Australia, according to multiple reports. Iyer’s persistent back issue forced him to withdraw from the remainder of the 4th Test earlier on Monday. Iyer will probably go back to the NCA to continue his recovery from the back problem that has bothered him for some time. Rajat Patidar, a batsman from Madhya Pradesh, can replace Iyer in the Indian team. However, BCCI hasn’t confirmed the addition of Rajat Patidar to the playing XI yet.
India’s expected squad for the ODI series: Rohit Sharma (c), Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Suryakumar Yadav, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Jaydev Unadkat, Washington Sundar, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik.
Australia’s expected squad for the ODI series: Steve Smith, Alex Carey, David Warner, Cameron Green, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa.