Kohli and Rohit selected in India's ODI squad for Australia

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been picked in India's ODI squad for the series in Australia starting on October 19, marking their international comebacks after last playing in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in March. The squad will be led by Shubman Gill, who has replaced Rohit as the ODI captain, with Shreyas Iyer the vice-captain.

The selection panel, headed by former India fast bowler Ajit Agarkar, met on Saturday in Ahmedabad, where India won the first Test of the series against West Indies by an innings and 140 runs.

There are five changes to the ODI squad from the 15 that won the Champions Trophy in the UAE in March: Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy are missing, Hardik Pandya is recovering from a quadriceps injury, Rishabh Pant has not yet fully recovered from the broken foot he suffered in England, and Jasprit Bumrah has been rested. They have been replaced by allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was injured for the Champions Trophy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

"With regards to Jaddu [Jadeja], I mean look, at the moment to take two left-arm spinners to Australia is not possible. He is clearly in the scheme of things with how good he is, but there will be some competition for places," Agarkar said. "Of course he was there in the Champions Trophy squad, because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there [in UAE]. At the moment we could only carry one and get some balance in the team with Washi [Washington Sundar] and Kuldeep there as well. I don't think we are going to need more than that in Australia. It's a short series, you can't accommodate everyone and unfortunately at the moment he is missing out, but it's nothing more than that."

Bumrah is part of the T20I squad for the five matches in Australia after the ODI series. The only change to the T20I squad that won the Asia Cup last month is Hardik being replaced by Reddy, while Washington has been added, making it a squad of 16.

"We have already rested him for the one-day games. When we can manage his workload, we will do that," Agarkar said about Bumrah. "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]. Not just him, Siraj bowls a lot of overs as well. There are other guys who do play Test cricket, who will end up having a lot of bowling to do, so we will try and manage all the seamers, so that we minimise the risk of injuries."

Agarkar indicated that Gill and Rohit were likely to open in the ODIs, which means Jaiswal could miss out on a place in the starting XI. He also said Jurel was picked ahead of Sanju Samson in the ODI squad due to batting position, while KL Rahul is likely to remain the first-choice wicketkeeper.

"Sanju Samson bats at the top of the order," Agarkar said. "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 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."

India play three ODIs in Australia on October 19, 23 and 25, followed by five T20Is between October 29 and November 8.

Shubman Gill (capt), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-capt), 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.

Suryakumar Yadav (capt), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (vice-capt), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar.