The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the 15-man squad to face the Aussies in the upcoming five match ODI series starting from March 2.
Contrary to what was expected, Rohit Sharma has been named in the squad for the entire series with Virat Kohli returning following the rest. Kohli sat out of two ODIs and the three T20Is against New Zealand.
BCCI have named two separate squads for the five match series with separate one for the first two ODIs and another for the remaining three. The difference between the two squads sees Bhuvneshwar Kumar return for the last three ODIs with Sidharth Kaul getting a call up for the first two ODIs.
Speculation has been put to rest on Rohit being given a rest for the limited-overs series as he is included in the squad for all the five ODIs as vice-captain of the side. India’s premier fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah has also been named in the squad after being rested for the limited overs series in Australia and New Zealand.
The biggest inclusion has come in the form of 26-year-old right-batsman KL Rahul, who has been encountering a poor show with the bat of late. He was dropped from the ODI team after the ODI series in Australia.
Nevertheless, Rahul churned out two decent knocks in the unofficial Test series against England Lions and got himself back into the setup. Dinesh Karthik, who was a part of the ODIs in New Zealand, has been left out and Rishabh Pant has been persisted with.
The competition between India and Australia starts on February 24 with the first T20 International in Visakhapatnam.
India’s squad for 1st and 2nd ODI:
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohamed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, Sidharth Kaul, KL Rahul.
India’s squad for remaining 3 ODIs:
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohamed Shami, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant.
