India announce squad for ODI series of Australia; MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli retain leadership positions

India have announced their squad for their limited-overs tour of Australia. Unsurprisingly, MS Dhoni will retain his position as skipper and Virat Kohli will be his deputy.  The team does not feature any startling changes and is highly recognisable. The squad whose captain continues to be MS Dhoni, sees the return of bowler Mohammed Shami. After a staggering performance against South Africa in the Tests, Ravindra Jadeja has found favour with the selectors for a recall in the One-Day International (ODI) side. The batting line up is identical to the one that took on South Africa in the recent home series. Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma are in as openers. ALSO READ: Ravindra Jadeja makes comeback to India squad

The middle order is studded with names like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, MS Dhoni. The middle order will have options like Manish Pandey, Gurkeerat Singh and Rishi Dhawan to chose from after the exclusion of Suresh Raina. India’s squad has a big task on their hands to try and overturn the fortunes in the format they once dominated not too long back. In the home series against South Africa, India lost by a 3-2 scoreline. Arguably, facing Australia in their backyard will be a tougher challenge. It will require the Indian team to be on top of their game to beat Australia.

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MS Dhoni’s team will have memories of their previous sojourn in Australia which extended into the World Cup, where India were knocked out in the semi-final by Australia themselves. Prior to that there was a tri-series featuring the Big 3 teams including England where India lost all games.

India’s bowling attack will feature names like Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Brainder Sran, Rishi Dhawan apart from the recalled Shami. Brainder Sran and Rishi Dhawan are the new comers in the squad. Given how effective Shami was in the World Cup despite playing with a worn out knee, India’s bowling attack will be heavily bolstered. Raina has been axed from the ODI side but has the opportunity to redeem himself in the T20Is. Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya are among the others to get a chance exclusively in the T20I squad.

India squad for Australia: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Virat Kohli (vc), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Akshar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Brainder Sran