The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced India’s ODI squad for the upcoming 3-match series against Australia. While the biggest takeaway is Shubman Gill replacing Rohit Sharma as captain, there were several notable misses from the squad.
Hardik Pandya injured
Hardik Pandya was reported to miss the series due to an injury he picked up during the Asia Cup, and Chairman of Selectors Ajit Agarkar has confirmed the all-rounder won’t take part in the ODI series. “Hardik Pandya is not fit at the moment,” Agarkar said in a press conference held after the India vs West Indies 1st Test ended.
Shami, Jadeja & Chakaravarthy dropped
Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja, and Varun Chakaravarthy were part of India’s squad for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Yet, neither has found a place now. Agarkar talked about not selecting Jadeja, stating that due to heavy competition in the team, at the moment, Axar Patel is ahead of him. But didn’t rule him out of contention with the ODI World Cup 2027 in mind.
“Right now, we could only take one left-arm spinner for the Australia series. It wasn’t possible to fit in two. Ravindra Jadeja is absolutely in our plans—everyone knows how good he is and what he offers as an all-rounder and a fielder. But for this short series, we wanted to maintain balance with Washington Sundar and Kuldeep Yadav in the squad,” Agarkar stated in the press conference.
Agarkar wasn’t asked about Shami’s exclusion. But the writing is on the wall. The pacer hasn’t been on the money since his return. His fitness remains an issue as well. BCCI and selectors might have decided to move on from the pacer. Varun’s exclusion isn’t that shocking. He was primarily picked due to spin-friendly conditions in Dubai and therefore has been dropped now.
Bumrah rested, but what about Pant?
Since the ODI World Cup 2027 is far away, the selectors have decided to rest Jasprit Bumrah from 50-over cricket. The decision also makes sense from the workload management side of things. He’s been picked for the T20I squad, keeping the 2026 T20 World Cup in mind, and has been playing Test cricket as well.
“We have already rested him for the one-day games. When we can manage his workload, we will do that. Wherever you can give him a break, you will, because we all know how important he is, but we have also got to see what is in the interest of the team. And when we need him to play, he is always available, but we will look after him,” Agarkar said.
As for Rishabh Pant, again Agarkar wasn’t asked about him. But we still don’t know whether he’s regained fitness. The wicketkeeper wasn’t picked for the India vs West Indies Test series, and we don’t have a timeline for his recovery yet. He was the backup keeper to KL Rahul at the Champions Trophy, but we don’t know whether the selectors still view him as much.
What about Sanju Samson?
After 16 ODIs, Sanju Samson averages 56.66 and scored a hundred in his last match. But despite all of this, he hasn’t been selected. More than that, Samson hasn’t played an ODI since December 2023. Yes, he wasn’t part of the Champions Trophy, but you’d think, since Pant isn’t there, he should get in.
The selectors don’t think that. Agarkar was asked about Samson’s omission. He expanded that Dhruv Jurel has been picked, as he’s a middle-order batter, while in their view, Samson is a top-order batter.
“Sanju Samson bats at the top of the order. I think when he got a 100, I think he batted No. 3, if I am not wrong. Jurel usually bats lower down the order. KL (Rahul) bats there as well. You have seen how good a player Dhruv is. Again, you are looking at spots. I don’t think there is room at the top again. So, we are looking at guys who can fit in those spots. Obviously, Sanju at the moment in T20 cricket is batting there (middle order), and we are trying him there. But in one-day cricket, it’s a little bit different. So, that’s basically the thought. It’s more the position than anything else,” Agarkar said.
India ODI squad for Australia
Shubman Gill (c), 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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