The will begin the World Cup 2027 preparation from October 19, when they play in the first ODI of the three-match series.
India haven’t played any ODI cricket since the ICC Champions Trophy in February, where they emerged victorious. The Australia tour is already grabbing headlines due to Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, who are likely to return to international cricket after almost eight months.
The veterans had announced retirement from Test cricket ahead of the England tour, but expressed a desire to play the ODI World Cup in 2027. Their place in the squad isn’t guaranteed, and they’ll have to earn the berths with consistent performances in the preceding series. A decent show in Australia will bolster their chance of getting picked in the ODI World Cup Squad. The ODI matches will be played on October 19, 23, and 25, and the series will be followed by a five-match T20I series.
Shubman Gill To Replace Rohit Sharma As ODI Captain?
Meanwhile, the India ODI squad for the Australia tour shouldn’t have too many surprises. The biggest change that could happen before the tour could be the leadership switch, with Shubman Gill taking over the captaincy duties from . This is because Rohit’s place in the World Cup squad is not guarenteed, and the BCCI would want to give Shubman enough time to get used to ODI captaincy if he is to lead the side in the ODI World Cup.
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul should have no difficulty in finding a place in the squad. Rishabh Pant is injured, and that could pave the way for Ishan Kishan’s return to the squad. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja were the two spin all-rounders in the Champions Trophy squad, but since the series will be played in Australia, and the World Cup will be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, one of them might be left out. Jadeja also faces a similar situation to Rohit and Kohli; thus, the BCCI might go in with Axar with long-term goals in sight.
Nitish Reddy could replace Jadeja in the squad. Washington Sundar is Gambhir’s favourite, and a very handy cricketer, so he should also board the flight to Australia. Kuldeep Yadav should be the specialist spinner, with Varun Chakravarthy missing out due to India’s need for extra fast bowlers on the tour. Jasprit Bumrah is unlikely to play to manage his workload. The pace unit could be led by Mohammed Siraj, and the squad could also see the return of Mohammed Shami. Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana or Prasidh Krishna could be other pacers in the squad.
India Predicted Squad For Australia ODI Series: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana/Prasidh Krishna.