IND vs AUS: KL Rahul to captain side in first two ODIs, R Ashwin to play entire series

India has released two sets of squads for the series against Australia with KL Rahul leading the team in the first two ODIs.

R Ashwin makes a return to the ODI side for the first time since 2022 and will be a part of the squad for the entirety of the series. India will be using their World Cup squad for the final ODI, with Rohit Sharma returning to the side as captain.

Washington Sundar, who was picked for the Asia Cup final against Sri Lanka following Axar Patel’s injury, will be in the squad for the first two matches. Ravindra Jadeja will be the deputy for Rahul in the first two matches, as the likes of Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya have been rested.

Ishan Kishan has been in tremendous form and he will be looking to carry his form into the series against the Aussies, who recently lost their ODI series 2-3 to South Africa. Kishan has flourished of late, in the middle-order and will be playing all three matches against Australia.

Kuldeep Yadav, who was the Player Of The Series during the Asia Cup 2023, has been rested for the first two games.

India will be high on confidence after beating Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final by 10 wickets. Mohammed Siraj became the Player of the Match after he ripped through the opposition with a six-wicket haul. On the back of his spell, India bowled the hosts out for 50 after which the chased down the target with 273 balls to spare.

The three ODIs between India and Australia will take place on September 22, 24 and 27 in Mohali, Indore and Rajkot respectively.

India Squad for first two ODIs:

KL Rahul (C & WK), Ravindra Jadeja (Vice-captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

Squad for the 3rd & final ODI:

Rohit Sharma (C), Hardik Pandya, (Vice-captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wicketkeeper), Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel*, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj