India and Australia are playing the first ODI in Hyderabad. (Source: BCCI/Twitter)India rested leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and brought Ravindra Jadeja back into the side for the first ODI against Australia on Saturday in Hyderabad. The left-arm spinner, who was not included in the team during any of the five ODIs against New Zealand last month, was earlier not included in the squad for the series, but was added after Hardik Pandya pulled out due to sore back.
Speaking after losing the toss and being asked to bowl first, skipper Virat Kohli explained the reasons for the team selection. “We are pretty balanced as a side. We are giving Chahal a break today so Jadeja comes in. We will rotate our wrist spinners. Rest, we have the same combination of 2 fast bowlers, Vijay Shankar and Ravindra Jadeja to provide us the balance and give us depth in batting. Our top-order is same as we played in New Zealand,” he said.
Despite a strong return with the bat in the T20Is, KL Rahul was also not included in the playing XI, as India went ahead with the regular opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma. Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni filled the middle-order, along with Vijay Shankar and Jadeja adding more batting depth.
Australia handed a debut to allrounder Ashton Turner. The right-handed batsman, who has played 5 T20Is, was given his maiden ODI cap by former Aussie legend Matthew Hayden before the start of the match.
The great Matthew Hayden presents debutant Ashton Turner with his maiden ODI cap #INDvAUS pic.twitter.com/T3i7CEPZJT
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) 2 March 2019
Alex Carey also returned to the side for the wicketkeeping duties, while despite a solid T20I performance, D’arcy Short did not make it into the team.
Australia (Playing XI): Aaron Finch(c), Usman Khawaja, Marcus Stoinis, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Alex Carey(w), Nathan Coulter-Nile, Pat Cummins, Adam Zampa, Jason Behrendorff
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Vijay Shankar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah
