Rohit Sharma to Miss the First Ind vs Aus ODI, Hardik Pandya to Lead

After winning the Ind vs Aus test series, the men in blue are ready to lock horns with Australia once again in the ODI format this time. Indian captain Rohit Sharma will miss the first ODI of the Ind vs Aus series because of his personal commitment. In his absence, Hardik Pandya will act as the stand-in captain for India.

Since India’s recent T20 World Cup loss, the BCCI has been backing Hardik Pandya to lead India in the shortest format of the game. KL Rahul was demoted from the position of vice-captain owing to his bad form. So far, Pandya only has the experience to lead a T20 side but the opportunity to lead in the Ind vs Aus game will give him a new perspective. Last year, in a conversation he acknowledged that he was aiming to play in the ODI World Cup that will be organized in India later this year.

Hardik Pandya to lead India in the first game

“Rohit Sharma to skip the game for some family commitments. Rohit will be back to lead for the final two matches,” as per a report in Cricket.com.au. Both the teams have players injured or unavailable for the Ind vs Aus series. Shreyas Iyer, and Jasprit Bumrah will not be available for the Indian team. Meanwhile, for the Australian team, Steve Smith will take charge of the side. Jhye Richardson and Josh Hazlewood will be unavailable. Glenn Maxwell and Shaun Marsh will be back on the side for Australia.

Speaking more about the Ind vs Aus series, Virat Kohli is 191 runs away from becoming the fifth batter to complete 13,000 runs in ODI cricket. In addition to this, as per ESPNCricinfo, Ishan Kishan might open in the first game in absence of Rohit Sharma. Suryakumar Yadav will once again get a chance to prove his worth in the ODI format. “Suryakumar will compete with Ishan Kishan and Rahul for places in the middle order. While Kishan is likely to open with Gill in Rohit Sharma’s absence in the first ODI, he could slip back into being a reserve opener once Rohit returns,” states the report from ESPNCricinfo.

Ind vs Aus fixtures and squads:

• 1st ODI: 17 March, Mumbai
• 2nd ODI: 19 March, Visakhapatnam
• 3rd ODI: 22 March, Chennai

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

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