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Opinion
As the IPL and Sheffield Shield goes on, India have named their squads for all formats for their tour of Australia.
I’ll be looking through all three squads and giving my thoughts on each player that have been selected. First up, the ODI squad.
Virat Kohli (captain)
Australia is a happy hunting ground for Kohli. Smashing 133 off 86 against Sri Lanka in 2012 at Hobart, Kohli averages 50.17 in ODI cricket down under. But his record at the SCG (36 runs at an average of nine) is very poor. With two ODIs at the SCG and no Rohit Sharma, the Indian skipper will be looking to lead from the front and improve his ODI record in Sydney.
(Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
KL Rahul (vice-captain/wicketkeeper)
Lokesh Rahul is in the form of his life at the moment. Playing some quality innings in India’s middle order at five, he’s shown his adaptability in ODI roles over the past 24 months. Named as the only keeper in India’s ODI squad, India will most likely keep Rahul at number five and let him express himself in the final 20 overs. A quality player of fast bowling, KL Rahul will enjoy the wickets on offer in Sydney and Canberra.
Mayank Agarwal
Another quality batsman from Karnataka, Agarwal has been rewarded for his List A and IPL form with a second call-up into India’s ODI squad since the World Cup. While he struggled against the moving ball in New Zealand earlier this year, you wouldn’t expect the SCG and Manuka Oval to produce wickets that will swing a lot. With the form he’s been in for India, Kings XI Punjab and Karnataka, you’d expect Agarwal to be opening the batting in this series.
Shikhar Dhawan
When on song, Shikhar Dhawan is one of the best left-handed openers in ODI cricket. Preferring hard and flat wickets compared to slow pitches, Dhawan should enjoy the pitches on offer. With the amount of cricket he’s missed due to injuries since 2019, Dhawan will be determined to make a mark on how many years of international cricket he has left in him. It is a no-brainer to have him open alongside Agarwal.
Shreyas Iyer
Iyer’s made an excellent impact for India at number four since he got recalled in August 2019. He’s done more than enough to cement his spot at four in the long term, and he’ll be looking to continue to score runs for India in his second tour of Australia. With Manish Pandey and possibly Shubman Gill breathing down Iyer’s neck, the competition for India’s number-four spot remains stiff.
Hardik Pandya
Due to recurring back injuries, Pandya still hasn’t played an ODI since India’s World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand. He hasn’t bowled at all so the question remains: will he be able to bowl ten overs or will he bowl sporadically? Batting-wise, Pandya will bat at either six or seven unless the situation requires him to come up the order to provide some firepower in the latter overs.
(Photo by Philip Brown/Getty Images)
Ravindra Jadeja
Jadeja hasn’t had much success with either bat or ball in Australia, but his fielding always ensures he’s in India’s ODI squad. Someone who can give ten tight overs and play match-winning knocks down the order, Jadeja will be determined to improve his ODI record down under.
Shardul Thakur
A massive surprise is seeing Thakur in this squad. With a bowling average over 50 and an economy of seven after 12 ODIs, Thakur’s numbers don’t give Indian fans much confidence. India would’ve been much better off giving Prasidh Krishna a call-up or recalling Abhimanyu Mithun. I will be very surprised if Thakur gets a game in this series.
Kuldeep Yadav
This has got to be the last straw for Kuldeep. He’s been woefully out of form for India in ODIs and averages over 44 with the ball since the World Cup at an economy of six. If he continues to under-perform, then it’ll only be a matter of time before Shreyas Gopal gets the nod over him in India’s ODI side. When on song, Kuldeep is unstoppable, but it seems he’s been found out over the past year.
Jasprit Bumrah
India’s best white-ball bowler of all time, Bumrah’s form in the IPL has given Indian fans a sigh of relief leading up to this series. A lot of responsibility will lie on him and Mohammed Shami in this series to fire with Bhuvneshwar Kumar out injured. The SCG is where it all began for Bumrah in international cricket, and he’ll be looking to be a wicket-taker for Kohli this series.
(Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Mohammed Shami
While Shami can be expensive sometimes, he’ll pick wickets with the new ball, and that’ll be his role this series. Australia’s still not settled in their middle order, and Shami will be looking to exploit that when he comes charging in with the new ball.
Navdeep Saini
With no Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Saini will most likely be the third seamer in India’s XI. He’s had a rough start to his ODI career, but he’ll grow and improve as a cricketer with the more games he gets. Saini’s role most likely will be to bowl in the middle and death overs. If he can clock over 150 kilometres, then Saini surely can use his pace to surprise the Aussie batsmen.
Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal is one of the smartest bowlers I’ve ever seen. Then again, he has represented India in chess at a younger age. India will give Kuldeep a go first before Chahal gets a look-in later in the series. A cunning leg spinner who’s not afraid to toss the ball up, he’ll have fond memories of Australia, having taken 6-42 in his sole ODI match down under.
Manish Pandey
Pandey will always remember the SCG very well – this is where he scored his one and only ODI hundred four years ago. For some reason, Pandey couldn’t make the number-four spot his and now is playing second fiddle to Shreyas Iyer. Unless Iyer gets injured, I highly doubt Pandey will get a game.
Shubman Gill
Rohit Sharma’s injury means Shubman Gill gets a second call-up into the India ODI squad. The great thing about Gill is that although he’s the back-up opener in India’s squad, he can still bat at three or four. I don’t see Gill getting into India’s ODI XI unless they wrap up the series on November 29 and experiment for the third ODI.
Predicted India XI for the first ODI: Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli (captain), Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
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