IND vs AUS 2020: KL Rahul vice-captain of 15-man ODI squad; Gill and Kuldeep make the cut
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the country's ODI squad for the upcoming tour of Australia today.
The 15-man squad doesn't have a lot of surprises in it, with Kings XI Punjab skipper KL Rahul deputising for captain Virat Kohli in the absence of Rohit Sharma. The Mumbai Indians captain has missed the last few games in IPL 2020 due to injury, and his availability will continue to be monitored by the BCCI.
The batting lineup consists of various star IPL performers like Mayank Agarwal and Shreyas Iyer, with Manish Pandey also finding a place. The selectors were reportedly on the fence regarding Hardik Pandya since he hasn't bowled since having surgery on his back, but the all-rounder also features in the team.
Also read: IND v AUS 2020: Varun Chakravarthy surprise inclusion in 16-man T20I squad; Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant excluded
The pace attack consists of a host of players who've been amongst the wickets in IPL 2020, with Shardul Thakur being a slightly surprising inclusion. Given Bhuvneshwar Kumar's hip injury, however, the selectors seem to have had their hands tied.
Kuldeep Yadav retained his place despite barely featuring for the Kolkata Knight Riders thus far, with his IPL teammate Shubman Gill serving as the reserve opener. Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal are the other spinners in the team.
ODI squad: Virat Kohli (C), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (VC & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur
IND vs AUS ODI Schedule
The ODI leg of India's tour of Australia kicks off what is a highly anticipated series. The matches will take place as follows:
First ODI - November 27: Australia vs India, SCG
Second ODI - November 29: Australia vs India, SCG
Third ODI - December 1: Australia vs India, Manuka Oval