IND vs AUS, 1st ODI: Gill, Rahul in focus as Hardik leads India in Rohit’s absence in Mumbai
The HinduThe last time India squared off against Australia in an ODI at the Wankhede Stadium, in January 2020, the touring side had a cakewalk - bagging a ten-wicket victory, with Aaron Finch and David Warner hammering unbeaten centuries. And to add to India’s woes, Rohit - a true blue Mumbaikar - won’t be available for Friday’s ODI due to family commitments and in his absence, Hardik Pandya will step up as the leader. This series gives the Aussies a chance to play in three different venues - Mumbai, Visakhapatnam and Chennai - with varied conditions, and under a wily Smith’s leadership, the team hopes to learn as much as possible in terms of handling the pressure and assessing the conditions - an experience, they feel, will be beneficial ahead of the World Cup. SQUADS India: Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd Shami, Mohd Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat. Australia: Steven Smith, David Warner, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa.