Indian off-spinner R. Ashwin has been added to the squad for the upcoming three-match series against Australia.
KL Rahul will lead the team in the first two ODIs, while Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are rested for those first two games. Axar Patel will join the squad for the third ODI, which will also serve as India’s World Cup squad.
The squad announcement was made by chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar and captain Rohit Sharma via a virtual press conference. India has had some injury concerns, including Shreyas Iyer, but Rohit Sharma mentioned that Iyer is progressing well and is expected to be fit.
Axar Patel had missed the Asia Cup final due to a left quadricep strain but is now included in the squad for third ODI subject to his fitness.
Australia will have key players like captain Pat Cummins returning after missing the series in South Africa. Australia’s team is also dealing with the injury of Travis Head, which is a concern for the 50-over World Cup in India starting on October 5.
India is set to face Australia in its ODI World Cup opener on October 8 in Chennai, and a series win against Australia could propel India to the No. 1 ranking before the tournament.
2023 Australia Tour of India
September 22: First ODI, Mohali (D/N), 1.30pm IST
September 24: Second ODI, Indore (D/N), 1.30pm IST
September 27: Third ODI, Rajkot (D/N), 1.30pm IST
Squad for the 1st two ODIs:
KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna
Squad for the 3rd & final ODI:
Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel*, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj
Axar’s availability is subject to his fitness
Australia squad:
Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa