Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are set to return in international cricket, India’s ODI squad for the Australia series will be announced today

India’s Playing XI for 1st ODI vs Australia

Former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar revealed his chosen squad for the first ODI against Australia, scheduled for October 19 in Perth. He selected Shubman Gill as captain and opener alongside Rohit Sharma, followed by Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and KL Rahul in the batting lineup. For the all-rounder spots, Bangar included Axar Patel and Washington Sundar as spin options, while Nitish Reddy was picked as the pace all-rounder. Surprisingly, Kuldeep Yadav, who topped the wicket charts in the Asia Cup 2025 with 17 wickets, was left out of Bangar’s playing XI.

Sanjay Bangar completed his India XI for the first ODI against Australia by adding Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, and Harshit Rana to the lineup.

Here’s his full team:

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

The upcoming ODIs have created a lot of excitement as they mark Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli’s first international appearance since India’s Champions Trophy win in March. With Shubman Gill now leading the ODI side, there’s growing speculation about the future of the two senior stars.

Gill’s Strong Support for Rohit-Virat Partnership in India’s ODI Setup

Both Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have already retired from Tests and T20Is, but reports suggest they wish to continue playing until at least the 2027 ODI World Cup.

Shubman Gill, who also captains the Test team, has openly backed this idea in his media interactions since taking charge of the ODI side.

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“The experience Rohit bhai and Virat bhai bring, and the number of matches they’ve won for India, is unmatched. Very few players possess the kind of skill, quality, and experience that they have,” said Gill.

“There are very few players in the world with such remarkable skill, quality, and experience. So yes, in that sense, I believe they still have a lot to offer,” Gill said while speaking about the duo’s 2027 World Cup prospects after India’s recent Test series win against the West Indies at home.