Aakash Chopra predicts India’s playing XI for first ODI vs Australia; star bowler excluded from the XI

Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra has come up with his Team India playing XI for the first ODI against Australia, scheduled to start on Sunday, October 19, at New Perth Stadium in Perth.

While India is all set to play the first ODI in Perth, the second ODI will be played at the Adelaide Oval on Thursday, October 23. The action then shifts to the third and final ODI at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, October 25.

Speaking on his YouTube channel, Chopra picked Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill as the opening duo, while Virat Kohli and Shreyas Iyer occupy the usual No.3 and No.4 positions, respectively.

Also, the keeper-batter KL Rahul retains the No.5 slot while the pace bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is slotted at No.6 in the batting order. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are two spin bowling options at No.7 and No.8, respectively. Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh are part of the pace line-up.

While Kuldeep Yadav is the notable absentee in the playing XI picked by Chopra, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Prasidh Krishna are other players omitted. For the unversed, Kuldeep has scalped 181 wickets from 113 ODIs so far at an average of 26.44 and an economy of 4.99.

Aakash Chopra’s India playing XI for the first ODI vs Australia

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.

India’s ODI squad vs Australia: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (WK), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

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