India vs Australia: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli to take rest in first two ODIs
New Delhi : Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the first two ODIs against Australia, BCCI announced on Monday. KL Rahul will be leading the Indian side in the two games. However, the third ODI will see World Cup-bound 15-member squad against Australia.
Ravichandran Ashwin is also making his comeback in the squad. It must be noted that he will be seen playing in the Indian squad after a long gap of 20 months. He last played for India in an ODI against South Africa, in January 2022.
In the upcoming World Cup, the Indian team will be the team which will be traveling the most compared to the other ten teams, as the Men in Blue are scheduled to compete in nine different venues. Rohit Sharma talked about the potential difficulties associated with extensive travel, and said, "I believe it won't pose a significant obstacle for us. However, there are specific guidelines and protocols in place to ensure that we perform at our highest level."
Rohit Sharma emphasized the chance to evaluate certain players and underscored the significance of assessing the team's depth. The BCCI chief selector expressed optimism that all-rounder Axar Patel would recover in time for the third ODI against Australia.
In case Axar does not regain fitness before the ICC's September 28 deadline, there is a possibility that Ashwin could be included in the Indian squad for the World Cup. Axar had suffered a quadriceps tear during the recent Asia Cup held in Sri Lanka.
India Squad For 1st & 2nd ODIs: KL Rahul (C), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, Ravichandran Ashwin, Washington Sundar.
India Squad vs Australia for 3rd ODI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Hardik Pandya, (vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel (subject to fitness), Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohammed Siraj.
