Bhuvneshwar Kumar returned to the Indian cricket team for the first ODI. (Source: AP)Bhuvneshwar Kumar will make his first international appearance since November 2018 when India take the field to bowl first against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground. Skipper Virat Kohli, after losing the toss, announced that the men in blue will enter the match with a five-pronged bowling attack comprising of three seamers – Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed, and two spinners – Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.
India were handed a major blow on Friday when KL Rahul and Hardik Pandya were banned from the series and were asked to return to India after facing heavy backlash for their comments on a TV chat show. In Pandya’s place, India included allrounder Jadeja, who impressed in the limited overs format during the Asia Cup last year.
“When two quality players (Hardik and Rahul) are not featuring, it upsets the balance of the side. There are few guys who’ve got a chance to prove themselves. Jadeja is back in the ODI side, let’s see what he’s got to offer,” Kohli said after Australia captain Aaron Finch won the toss and elected to bat in the first ODI against Sydney.
India included Dinesh Karthik and Ambati Rayudu along with MS Dhoni in the middle order, while surprisingly, Kedar Jadhav was left out. Yuzvendra Chahal was also not included in the team in the first ODI in Sydney.
Australia Playing XI: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey (wk), Usman Khawaja, Shaun Marsh, Peter Handscomb, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Nathan Lyon, Peter Siddle, Jhye Richardson, Jason Behrendorff
India Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, K Khaleel Ahmed
