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Following their impressive victory in the Asia Cup 2023, the Indian cricket team is poised for an exciting showdown against Australia in a three-match ODI series on their home turf.
The first encounter of the series is scheduled for September 22 and will take place at the IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali.
Ravichandran Ashwin’s comeback in ODIs
On Monday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made announcement regarding the squad that will represent India against Australia. The announcement marked the return of the spin all-rounder Ravichandran Ashwin to the ODI side after a long period. The right hander’s comeback to the ODI fold is notable, given that his last appearance in this format was in January 2022.
The team management has opted to rest some of the marquee players for the first two ODIs. The quartet of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav will not feature in the first two matches of the series. Instead, they are set to return to the action in the third ODI.
During the squad announcement by BCCI’s chief selector Ajit Agarkar, a curious journalist inquired about the rationale behind resting the star players in preparation for what was colloquially referred to as the “Bharat Darshan” journey at the upcoming World Cup.
Also READ: IND vs AUS 2023- India’s best playing XI for the first 2 ODIs against Australia
The mention of ‘Bharat Darshan’ was made in light of India’s unique position as the team with the most extensive travel itinerary in the upcoming ODI Cricket World Cup, owing to their participation in group stage matches scheduled across various cities.
Rohit and Virat have been around forever: Ajit Agarkar
Agarkar mentioned that Rohit and Virat are integral to the team and have been ‘forever’ alongside. He also acknowledged that the spinner Kuldeep is in remarkable form, allowing the team to explore further options.
“Rohit (Sharma) and Virat (Kohli) have been around forever and obviously Hardik is an important player for us, we want to manage him, Kuldeep is in great form. It also gives us a chance to look at some of the other guys. That’s the thing. Luckily, we got a fair amount of cricket in the Asia Cup,” the former Indian pacer said.
Agarkar also emphasized the importance of physical and mental breaks and clarified that the team will play the third and final ODI with their finalized World Cup squad.
“If not we might have looked at it some other way. At some stage or the other, more than physical, guys sometimes need a mental break which is not such a bad thing, leading up the tournament (Cricket World Cup). But comes the third game, everyone will be available to play. We will play our World Cup squad. It does give us a chance to play some other guys who have been sitting outside and it has been a strong squad,” added the 45-year-old.
