Attention Indian cricket fans! India will miss captain Rohit Sharma in the first match of the crucial ODI series against Australia in March. This series will be India’s last assignment before the 2023 season of the Indian Premier League (IPL), which starts on March 31st.
As per the latest updates, the Board of Cricket in India (BCCI) has revealed that Rohit Sharma will not play the series opener on March 17 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium due to family commitments. In his absence, Hardik Pandya will lead the team in the Mumbai ODI, marking his debut as an ODI captain.
Hardik Pandya replaced KL Rahul as India’s ODI vice-captain during the Sri Lanka series, and this will be the first time he will captain India in the ODI format.
Jaydev Unadkat returned to the team after a 10-year absence, which was a big surprise for the fans. The rest of the squad was not a major surprise, as India looks to build momentum after winning back-to-back series against New Zealand and Sri Lanka in January. Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul retained the wicketkeeper’s slot, and Sanju Samson will have to wait for his international comeback.
The ODI series against Australia is essential for India as they gear up for the 2023 ODI World Cup. With the settled core team, India will be aiming for a positive result against Australia. The full squad for the ODI series against Australia is as follows: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.