New Delhi: Former cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has revealed his predicted playing XI for India’s first ODI against Australia on Sunday, featuring a few surprising omissions from the regular lineup.
Under newly appointed captain Shubman Gill, India will begin their preparations to build a settled squad ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup in South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. The series opener at the Optus Stadium in Perth will officially mark the beginning of Gill’s captaincy era in the 50-over format.
Unlike his Test captaincy debut, Gill will have the luxury of leading a side that includes stalwarts Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, both returning to international action for the first time since India’s Champions Trophy triumph in March. Rohit, now relieved of captaincy duties, will feature solely as an opener.
With Shreyas Iyer serving as vice-captain and KL Rahul as the designated wicketkeeper, Chopra’s predicted top five included Gill, Rohit, Kohli, Shreyas, and Rahul. Consequently, young opener Yashasvi Jaiswal misses out on the starting XI.
In the absence of the injured Hardik Pandya, Chopra picked Nitish Reddy to slot in at No. 6, followed by two spin-bowling all-rounders — Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Their inclusion meant there was no place for premier spinner Kuldeep Yadav, despite his stellar form in the Asia Cup, where he took 17 wickets and finished as the tournament’s leading wicket-taker. Chopra justified Kuldeep’s exclusion as a move to strengthen India’s batting depth.
For the pace attack, Chopra went with Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana, with Jasprit Bumrah rested due to workload management and Prasidh Krishna left out.
Aakash Chopra’s Predicted India XI:
Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (capt), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana.
