Team India is all set to lock horns against Australia for the three-match ODI series. The first match is scheduled to be played on October 19 at the Optus Stadium in Perth.
Ahead of the series, former cricketer turned commentator, Aakash Chopra, predicted India`s playing XI for the first match on Sunday.
The “Men in Blue” will enter the series under the leadership of newly appointed captain Shubman Gill.
Speaking in a video posted by Star Sports, Chopra chose Shubman Gill to open the batting along with his former skipper Rohit Sharma, with Virat Kohli coming to bat at the number three position.
The former cricketer then named Shreyas Iyer to bat at the number four position and KL Rahul to occupy the fifth position in the batting line-up.
With Gill and Rohit occupying the opening slot, flamboyant opener Yashasvi Jaiswal would continue to sit on the sidelines.
With Hardik Pandya in the recovery process from injury, Chopra names Nitish Kumar Reddy`s inclusion at the sixth position. He went for two spin bowling all-rounders, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. The inclusion of the two southpaws left no room for premier spinner Kuldeep Yadav.
With the seventh and the eighth spot occupied, Aakash weighed in on India`s pace battery. With pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah rested as part of his workload management, and left four seamers available. Aakash opted for Harshit Rana, who recently received support from head coach Gautam Gambhir after facing backlash from fans and former cricketers over alleged claims of favouritism. Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh were his remaining two choices, leaving Prasidh Krishna on the bench.
Ahead of the series, fans will expect the two bigwigs, Virat and Rohit, to put on a big show with the willow. The series will be a crucial contest for the duo to keep their spots secured in India`s ODI squad.
India`s ODI squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
(With ANI Inputs)