IND vs AUS: Axar, Shardul and Chahal likely to sit out - India's predicted 11 for 1st ODI

The 3-match ODI series between India and Australia kicks off from March 17 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. India have lost only one home bilateral series against Australia since 2009. The upcoming ODI series holds a lot of importance considering that India will host the World Cup later this year. Teams want to get their combinations right for the mega event and have announced full-strength squads for the series which conclude just ahead of the IPL 2023.

India captain Rohit Sharma will not be available to lead the team in the first ODI due to personal commitments as his deput Hardik Pandya to don the captaincy hat. Shreyas Iyer has also been ruled out of the series after the recurrence of his lower back injury. An opening spot is up for grab, and Iyer's absence will also open up a vacancy in the middle-order. The Indian squad is filled with a handful of all-rounders and making a choice between them is also not going to be an easy task.

IND vs AUS: India's predicted 11 for 1st ODI

Openers

In absence of Rohit Sharma, a decision on Shubman Gill's opening partner needs to be taken. Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul are the two choices, and the former is most likely to join Gill in the middle. Rahul played as a middle-order wicket-keeper batter in the against Sri Lanka earlier this year and scored 110 runs at an average of 55. Kishan was benched throughout the series. In the absence of Rahul from the New Zealand ODIs, he featured in all the three ODIs as a wicket-keeper batter but could manage only 24 runs in three matches

The management would definitely not want to send Rahul to open for just one game and in that case Kishan is certain of opening with Gill.

Middle-order

Virat Kohli is certain at number three but choices have to be made for the batters following him in the order. In absence of Iyer, India could go with Rahul at four and Suryakumar Yadav at five. Ravindra Jadeja can also be an option at number five. He can facilitate the left hand, right-hand combination for India in the middle. Hardik Pandya is likely to walk in at six and could be followed by Jadeja at seven, and Washington at number eight.

Wicket-keeper

The first ODI series of the year (vs Sri Lanka) saw KL Rahul doing the job behind the wickets for India. A tough fight for the spot was expected after Rishabh Pant's injury following a fatal car accident but the management had made their intention quite clear in the last two series. The Karnataka star looks set to resume his role in the upcoming series.

Spinners

Ravindra Jadeja - the premier all-rounder will most likely pair alongside Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav. Hardik has shown a strong faith in Washington who also increased India's batting dept. Kuldeep Yadav is ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal in the pecking order. He featured in all the three ODIs against Sri Lanka and played two matches against New Zealand. On the flip side, Chahal played a match each in both the series. Kuldeep finished as the joint-highest wicket-taker against New Zealand. He picked five wickets against Sri Lanka - the highest by a spinner in the series.

Left-arm Spin bowling all-rounder Axar Patel is also an option but with Jadeja back in the mix, he could also be benched.

Pacers

Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Jaydev Unadkat and Shardul Thakur are the five pacers in the field. Shami and Siraj are way ahead in the pecking order. Unadkat last played an ODI match in 2013 and will have to wait for his chance.

India Predicted XI for 1st ODI vs Australia: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj