India vs Australia 1st ODI Match Playing 11, Full Squad: Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill taking charge were the big talking points going into India’s ODI series in Australia, which starts with starts on Sunday in Perth. Rohit and Kohli haven’t played international cricket since the Champions Trophy final that India won on March 9, 2025 and haven’t played any competitive cricket since the Indian Premier League which ended in June.
The pair are expected to be a shoo-in for the Indian playing XI that will take the field in Perth. In fact, India’s top five in the batting order would pretty much pick itself, with Rohit and captain Shubman Gill opening, Kohli coming in at no 3, vice-captain Shreyas Iyer at no 4 and KL Rahul as wicketkeeper-batter at No.5
One can expect Nitish Kumar Reddy to be part of the playing eleven and he could come in at number six or seven, with Axar Patel coming either after or before him. The big question would be if India would want to strengthen their wicket-taking ability by picking Kuldeep Yadav, with Jasprit Bumrah sitting out in this ODI series, or if Gautam Gambbhir will stick to his preference for all-rounders and pick Washington Sundar.
Australia captain Mitchell Marsh said that they won’t go for an all-out pace attack. It means that Matt Kuhnemann, the left-arm spinner, could play his first ODI on home soil, with Adam Zampa sitting out this match for the birth of his second child. Matt Renshaw and Mitch Owen will make their ODI debuts.
IND vs AUS 1st ODI – Predicted Playing XIs
India probable XI vs Australia: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Washington Sundar/Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh
Australia Probable XI vs India: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (C), Matt Short, Matt Renshaw, Josh Philippe (WK), Mitch Owen, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matt Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood
IND vs AUS Squads
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammed Siraj, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Prasidh Krishna
Story continues below this ad
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Short, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe(w), Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Starc, Xavier Bartlett, Josh Hazlewood, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann
