Aakash Chopra picks India’s playing XI for first ODI vs Australia; Kuldeep Yadav excluded

Former Indian cricketer and commentator Aakash Chopra has picked the strongest Indian playing XI for the first ODI against Australia, scheduled to start on Sunday, October 19, at New Perth Stadium in Perth.

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

Moving forward, keeper-batter KL Rahul occupies the No.5 slot in the playing XI while Nitish Kumar Reddy is the lone pace bowling all-rounder, slotted at No.6 in the batting order. 

Meanwhile, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar are two spin bowling options at No.7 and No.8 batting positions, respectively. Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, and Arshdeep Singh form the pace battery.

The notable absentees in Chopra’s playing XI are Kuldeep Yadav, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Prasidh Krishna. Interestingly, Kuldeep has scalped 181 wickets from 113 ODIs so far at an average of 26.44 and an economy of 4.99.

While India plays the first ODI in Perth on Sunday, October 19, the action then shifts to the Adelaide Oval in the second ODI on Thursday, October 23. The third and final ODI will be played at the Sydney Cricket Ground on Saturday, October 25.

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.

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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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