India last played an ODI match in March.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the bilateral white-ball series in Australia. The stalwarts of Indian cricket, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, will don the national jersey after seven months, whereas Shubman Gill will take over the captaincy reins. The Men in Blue will play three ODIs and five T20Is Down Under, starting on October 19 in Perth. Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead in the shorter format.
India’s last ODI match was played in March for the Champions Trophy (CT) 2025 Final in Dubai. Shubman Gill was seen commanding the field in the absence of skipper Rohit Sharma. However, after handing the leadership duties to Gill in Tests, the management looks at the 26-year-old as an all-format captain. He was also named Suryakumar’s deputy in the recent Asia Cup, despite not being a mainstay in the T20 format.
Interestingly, Shreyas Iyer, who only features in ODIs, has been named as the vice-captain for the series Down Under. KL Rahul will be the designated gloveman. Dhruv Jurel, who earned his maiden ODI call-up, will serve as a backup wicketkeeper.
Earlier today, India won the first Test of the two-match series against the West Indies. Ravindra Jadeja has been named as Gill’s deputy for the home series after Rishabh Pant missed out due to injury.
The second Test in Delhi will commence on October 10, before the squad boards the flight to Australia. The ODIs will begin on October 19, while the T20I action will kick off on October 29 in Canberra.
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), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vc), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
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In the next year, India and SENA nations will be seen playing more 50-over games to prepare for the ODI World Cup in 2027. After the Australia tour, India will be hosting South Africa, New Zealand, and England for three ODIs each at home.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia will be hosting the 14th edition of the ICC event in the months of October and November. Given that Rohit will be 40 years of age by the time the multi-nation tournament commences, there’s a lack of clarity on his longevity and looming fitness concerns. The same applies to Virat as he will soon turn 37. While they may still play, the BCCI looks keen to pass the mantle to the youngsters with enough time to prepare.
The upcoming tour to Australia will be Gill’s first assignment as the ODI leader. Previously, he led India in the Anderson-Tendulkar trophy and drew the series 2-2 in England. Gill & Co. have also won the first match of the home Tests.
Under SKY’s leadership, India have won 24 out of 29 T20Is so far. Despite this phenomenal win-loss ratio, it won’t be a surprise if Gill is declared as the captain for all formats ahead of the T20 World Cup next year in February.
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