India vs Australia: Focus on middle-order batting as teams look to finetune ODI World Cup preparations

Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium brings back memories of India’s ODI World Cup triumph, back in 2011, and on Friday (17 March), Team India will be back at that exact venue, taking on Australia as a three-match ODI series gets underway. And with another ODI World Cup on home soil scheduled to take place in another six months’ time, the Men in Blue would hope to get their team combinations right, but for that to happen, a lot of questions will have to be answered.

Also read: Top player battles to watch out for in ODI series

India have had comfortable 3-0 wins over Sri Lanka and New Zealand in the two ODI series they have played so far this year, but facing Australia will be a different challenge altogether.

Although Australia will miss the likes of skipper Pat Cummins (With Steve Smith captaining the side in Cummins’ absence) and Josh Hazlewood, they have been provided with a boost, with both David Warner and Ashton Agar back in the side.

While David Warner was forced to return home following a concussion midway through the Test series, Agar, too, was overlooked, and later released from the squad following the second Test in Delhi.

And the ODI series against India provides both Warner and Agar to rediscover their lost touch and get back to form, which should that happen, will send a timely reminder to the selectors.

Warner’s injury had raised huge doubts regarding his availability for the ODI series, but coach Andrew McDonald said Warner had recovered from his injury.

“He (Warner) is coming back (to India) for the one day series, he’s recovered from his injury,” Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed just a couple of days back, while also adding that Warner was still in their plans for the World Test Championship final in June.

As far as his 50-over record in India is concerned, Warner averages 55.85, having scored 391 runs from eight matches with two centuries in his name. Apart from his ODI record in India, Warner’s IPL experience in India could help him adapt to the Indian conditions pretty well, which will be an added advantage for Australia.

Rohit absent for first ODI, Hardik to lead

India’s permanent skipper Rohit Sharma will remain absent for the first ODI in Mumbai due to family commitments, and that means that all-rounder Hardik Pandya will take captaincy duties.

Hardik, being groomed as a future captaincy prospect in the shorter formats, has led India in 11 T20Is, winning eight of those, but is yet to take the same responsibility for the 50-over format.

The upcoming first ODI will be another opportunity for Hardik to prove his potential as Team India skipper, having displayed so in the shortest format apart from leading Gujarat Titans to a historic IPL triumph in 2022.

In Rohit’s absence, it will be Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill who will likely open the batting for India.

Kishan has only opened for India in ODIs on two occasions, but he impressed in the third ODI against Bangladesh last year, having amassed 210 off 131 balls while opening with Shikhar Dhawan.

Gill, on the other hand, has enjoyed a remarkable rise in limited-overs cricket for India. Over the last 12 months, the youngster has amassed 1205 runs from just 18 matches at an average of 86.07, so his recent ODI record speaks for itself.

However, Kishan could soon lose his place once Rohit is back for the second and third ODIs. India have persisted with Shubman Gill opening with Rohit Sharma for a while now, and they have all the reason to do so. Shubman has amassed three centuries, a half-century and an unbeaten 40 in ODIs this, and every one of these knocks have come while opening the innings.

Shreyas Iyer ruled out, time for SKY to step up?

A recurring back injury meant that Shreyas Iyer was ruled out of the ODI series against Australia, and possibly a part of the Indian Premier League (IPL), that commences from 31 March. Iyer’s absence means aggressive batter Suryakumar Yadav is a contender to replace him in India’s middle-order.

While SKY, like Gill, has been a revelation in T20I cricket for India, he has not had much success with the bat in ODIs. In 48 T20Is, SKY has amassed three centuries and 13 fifties, while in 20 ODIs, he averages just 28.86, with 433 runs to his name (Two fifties).

Should he face Australia in the ODI series, SKY would have faced each of the SENA countries at least once. But his record against SENA nations collectively is far from impressive. While he scored 39 in the only ODI he has played against South Africa so far, SKY averages under 25 against both England and New Zealand, having scored just 43 and 89 runs respectively.

With Suryakumar likely to bat at number four, he will look to make most of his opportunities count, and aim to replicate his T20I success into the ODIs.

KL Rahul will be another player hoping to make headlines for the right reasons. He struggled in the recent Test series against the Aussies, but will get the chance to once again find his place in the ODI side. Rishabh Pant’s prolonged absence from competitive cricket after a freak car accident late last year, means Rahul will get the opportunity to don the wicketkeeper’s gloves, and even make a statement with the bat in the upcoming series.

No Bumrah again, onus on Shami

Injured pacer Jasprit Bumrah continues to be out of competitive cricket for a considerable amount of time, and that means the onus on leading the Indian pace attack will fall on Mohammed Shami. With Shami will be Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umran Malik, depending on how many all-rounders India will go ahead with.

All-rounders Shardul Thakur and Washington Sundar  were impactful against New Zealand in Ravindra Jadeja’s absence. India can also strengthen their batting now, with Jadeja back into the fold.

The next six months will also be crucial for KulCha, India’s spin twins. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will be hoping for more game time in the upcoming ODI series, but they will have to compete with Jadeja and Washington Sundar for a slot in the XI.

Regular game time and consistent performances will help their case, and regain their lost touch and bring back their famed KulCha comination back to life again.

Glenn Maxwell returns, focus on Cameron Green

As far as the Australian camp is concerned, all eyes will be on Glenn Maxwell, who, coming back to the team from an injury setback, will slot right into the Aussie middle order.

Cameron Green will look to continue from where he left off in the Test series. Green was to the top run-scorer (118 from three matches) when Australia toured India for a T20I series in September last year, and will be hoping for a more productive ODI series this time around.

The upcoming ODI series will give a hint of where India’s prepartions stand as far as the ODI World Cup is concerned. Yes, there will be challenges, without key players in Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, but India’s focus will be on how to take on this Australian team with the players they currently have, and look to build on it ahead of the showpiece event on home turf.

Squads:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav.

Australia: Steve Smith (c) Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa.

*Hardik Pandya will lead India in the first ODI in Rohit Sharma’s absence.

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