World Cup on the minds of India and Australia heading into ODI series

The Test leg of the ongoing tour saw a number of Australian players miss the action due to injuries and other reasons. The results also didn’t go their way initially, though they did make a comeback in the second half of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, winning the third Test at Indore and drawing the final Test at Ahmedabad.

It is this momentum that the tourists will seek to carry into the ODI series. While Australia are without their regular skipper Pat Cummins, they will be boosted by the return of stars David Warner and Glenn Maxwell.

Under Steve Smith’s leadership, the side will look to find the right balance in their lineup while also gaining crucial experience in Indian conditions before the World Cup.

Glenn Maxwell’s return is a big boost for the Australia setup, given how destructive the batter can be in the format, as is shown by his strike-rate of 124.98. The all-rounder has also shown good form with the ball of late, scalping nine wickets at an average of 36 in 2022.

However, the player is coming off a freak leg injury he suffered last year and has only played one competitive encounter since – a Sheffield Shield game for Victoria.

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Thus, the onus will be on the team management to handle Maxwell smartly, managing his fitness while also ensuring that the player gets good game time in India.

Australia walk into the series with a number of all-round options, with Maxwell, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott and Agar in the mix.

Even so, the time might be ripe for Green to make the fast-bowling all-rounder’s role his own ahead of others in the ODI setup. With a batting average of 58 and a bowling average of 29.27, Green looks like the premier all-rounder in the making.

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Given that neither Stoinis, whose stronger suit is batting, nor Abbott, who is more of a bowler, fill in the same position as Green only strengthens his case. Marsh is the only real competitor with the same skill levels, but the Western Australia player is also coming off an injury lay-off and will not bowl in the series.

If Green continues to impress with both bat and ball in this series, he’ll be one of the first all-rounders to board the flight for India in October.

Steven Smith (c), David Warner, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Glenn Maxwell, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa

The Men in Blue have found their feet in the format over their last two home assignments in January. India’s back-to-back 3-0 series wins over Sri Lanka and New Zealand have helped them answer some important questions.

Shubman Gill’s century-fuelled run has sealed his spot as Rohit Sharma’s partner at the top. Likewise in the pace department, Umran Malik, Mohammad Siraj and Mohammad Shami look like certain starters. The keeping duties will fall to one of Ishan Kishan and KL Rahul, as both have kept in the recent past.

However, there are certain areas which still need to be addressed by the team management.

India will miss key middle-order batter Shreyas Iyer due to the recurrence of a back injury. The Mumbai batter was India’s go-to number four option in recent months, and the team will need someone to fill in the position in his absence.

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They tried Kishan during the New Zealand ODIs, which were also missed by Iyer due to his back concerns, but the Jharkhand player scored merely 30 runs in three opportunities.

There’s also Suryakumar Yadav, who has scored 49 runs in three innings this year. While he averages merely 28.86 in the ODIs, India might be tempted to give the batter a nod based on his blistering T20I run. Suryakumar is a regular no. 4 in the T20Is, and India would only benefit if he brings the same initiative to his ODI game.

KL Rahul too could slot in at No.4, given that he has donned a number of roles for the side in recent years including that of a middle-order batter.

Given their experience in the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, where the lack of a regular number four came to haunt them later in their campaign, the side would look to lock down on a solid prospect as soon as possible.

India have 11 bowling options in their squad of 17. These include six pacers and five spinners.

The team will look to ascertain the right set of bowling options in their side before the World Cup, and this series will provide an opportunity to do the same.

With the experienced Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja almost a certain presence, four tweakers will be vying for spots in the XI.

While someone like Kuldeep Yadav, who has been in red-hot form with 11 ODI wickets this year, will look to further his World Cup chances with another fine performance, the likes of Axar Patel, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal also have an opportunity to impress.

In the pace department, India have lesser selection headaches, but injuries could provide a space for Shardul Thakur and Jaydev Unadkat to present their claim.

Rohit Sharma* (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkat.

*Rohit Sharma will be unavailable for the first ODI, Hardik Pandya will lead the side in his absence.