Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Hardik Pandya rested for first two ODIs vs Australia

Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, and Kuldeep Yadav have been rested for the first two ODIs as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced India's squad for the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia. Ravichandran Ashwin has returned to the ODI team after last appearing in the 50-over format in January 2022 against South Africa.

The return of Ravichandran Ashwin for the Australia series is intriguing because, despite not making the ODI World Cup 2023 squad, skipper Rohit Sharma hinted that talks about including the spinner are still ongoing, and Axar Patel's injury has increased his chances.

Washington Sundar, an off-spinner, has also been named to the squad for all three games and is another backup option for the World Cup. KL Rahul will captain the team for the first two games before Rohit returns to lead a full squad in the third and final ODI before the World Cup, which begins on October 5.

"Rohit is taking a break. Others are getting a breather. Rohit and Virat have been around forever. Hardik has been there. Kuldeep too. They



got a fair amount of cricket in Asia Cup. Guys need a mental break and come the third game our main players will play," Ajit Agarkar said.

The three-match series will kick off on Friday, September 22nd at the Punjab Cricket Association's IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali. The second match of the series will be played on September 24 at Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore, with the third ODI taking place on September 27 at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Rajkot.

Team India squad for the initial two matches

KL Rahul (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin, and Washington Sundar.

Team India squad for the third match

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