With the Border-Gavaskar Trophy over and the World Test Championship final almost three months away, India and Australia will now focus on another ICC tournament — the 50-over World Cup, which begins in October.
This three-match series, which begins at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, will act as the perfect stage for the two former world champions to fine-tune their strategy and team combination ahead of the showpiece event.
Australia will miss regular captain Pat Cummins and injured pacer Josh Hazlewood, while Aaron Finch has retired. Steve Smith will continue in his leadership role. India will go into the series without the injured Jasprit Bumrah and Shreyas Iyer and will get an opportunity to try different combinations. In the lead-up to the World Cup, India play nine bilateral ODIs and the Asia Cup.
Rohit Sharma will miss the first ODI because of family commitments but the team management will be spoilt for choice given the abundance of talent available. The availability of Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur lends greater balance to the side in the absence of Bumrah. The spin department has too many choices — Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Australia can take a leaf out of their 2020 performance at the Wankhede where they defeated India. Seven from the playing XI that day are present in the current squad.
Shubman Gill is expected to partner Ishan Kishan at the top of the order. With Rohit set to return for the second ODI in Visakhapatnam, this might be a big chance for Kishan to make an impression ahead of the World Cup.
The team management wants KL Rahul to be India’s first-choice keeper in Rishabh Pant’s absence and this series could be a make-or-break one for the keeper-batter. He hasn’t been in form of late and a few good scores could open the doors for him in other formats too.
Kishan was widely expected to become India’s first-choice opener following his double-century in Bangladesh, but the team management backed Shubman Gill in that role, a move that has paid off. Gill has scores of 70, 21, 116, 208, 40 not out and 112 in six ODI innings this year as an opener, making it tougher for Kishan to play when Rohit is back.
But a lot will also depend on Suryakumar Yadav. India’s best batter in the T20 format hasn’t been able to replicate his explosive form in the ODIs. India’ 360-degree batter will take Shreyas’ place in the XI, but averages only 28.86 with two fifties in 18 innings.
For Australia, David Warner, Glenn Maxwell, Mitch Marsh and Marcus Stoinis are back from injuries. This series will also be a sneak peek into the conditions that the visitors would face at the World Cup later this year.
The Wankhede pitch is a flat one, which gets even better for batting under lights. So brace for a high-scoring tie.
Today’s matches
■ India vs Australia, 1st ODI, 1.30pm, live on Star Sports Network
