India vs Australia 1st ODI probable playing 11: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli in; Yashasvi Jaiswal on bench

India vs Australia 1st ODI: Checkout Men in Blue's probable playing 11. (Photo: ICC)

India vs Australia 1st ODI probable playing 11: Since winning the 2025 Champions Trophy in Dubai in March, India has not played an ODI. With Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma wearing the national colors for the first time since that event, all eyes will be on the forthcoming three-match ODI series in Australia, which begins on Sunday, October 19.

With the retirement of the two mainstays from T20Is and Tests, ODIs are the only format they are currently playing. Recently, there has been a lot of conjecture on their future, especially in light of the 2027 ODI World Cup. When the mega-event takes place in South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Namibia, Rohit will be 40 and Kohli will be 39.

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Despite the fact that both superstars have been selected for the Australia series, there has already been a significant change: Rohit has been replaced as ODI captain by Shubman Gill. This raises questions about how Kohli and Rohit handle this series and suggests that the management may be preparing a transition before 2027.

The three One-Day Internationals (ODIs), which are slated for Perth on October 19, Adelaide on October 23, and Sydney on October 25, will essentially be the first phase of India's World Cup preparations in 2027.

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Kohli and Rohit will undoubtedly be in India's starting lineup against Australia, even if there is no assurance that they will play in the upcoming World Cup. Gill and Rohit will open, and Kohli will take his usual No. 3 position.

The next two spots are set for Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, two of India's best middle-order batsmen. Axar Patel may move in between them to break up the lineup's run of right-handers, much like he did in the Champions Trophy.

Due to the absence of Hardik Pandya (injured) and Ravindra Jadeja (dropped), head coach Gautam Gambhir, who is renowned for appreciating batting depth, may choose to use all-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Kumar Reddy to cover the remaining batting positions.

With Jasprit Bumrah rested, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj could lead India's pace attack, with Kuldeep Yadav playing as the spinner. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Dhruv Jurel, Harshit Rana, and Prasidh Krishna are probably going to start on the bench for the opening ODI in Perth.

India’s probable XI for first ODI vs Australia

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