New Delhi, Feb 19 (IANS) India captain Rohit Sharma will miss the first One-day International against Australia to be played in his hometown Mumbai on March 17 because of some family commitments, BCCI honorary secretary Jay Shah informed on Sunday.
Vice-captain Hardik Pandya, who led India in the last T20-I series against New Zealand, will lead the ODI side in Rohit’s absence, Shah said in a release on Sunday.
Pacer Jaydev Unadkat made it back to the squad after a gap of nine years while pacer Jasprit Bumrah continues to remain absent. Unadkat had last played an ODI against West Indies in November 2013.
The selectors also called up left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja after his brilliant bowling in the two Tests against Australia is back after recovering from his injury. Axar Patel and K.L Rahul, who were rested for the New Zealand ODIs, were also brought back as K.S Bharat and Shahbaz Ahmed were left out.
Unadkat will be part of the pace battery spearheaded by Mohammed Shami and including Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umran Malik along with Hardik Pandya, while Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel and Jadeja are the spinners in the side.
The in-form opener Shubman Gill, who struck a double hundred in the first ODI against New Zealand at Hyderabad, along with Virat Kohli and Suryakumar Yadav have also found their place in the crucial series ahead of this year’s ODI World Cup in India.
The second and third ODIs of the series will be played at Visakhapatnam (March 19) and Chennai (March 22).
India’s ODI squad against Australia: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (Vice-captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.
