Injured Rishabh, Hardik miss out; Bumrah added to T20I squad

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have returned to India’s ODI setup for the upcoming three-match series in Australia beginning October 19, marking their first international appearance since the 2025 Champions Trophy final in March. The side will be led by Shubman Gill, who has taken over the ODI captaincy from Rohit, with Shreyas Iyer named as his deputy.

The selection committee, chaired by former India pacer Ajit Agarkar, finalised the squads on Saturday in Ahmedabad, where India had earlier sealed a dominant innings-and-140-run victory over West Indies in the first Test.

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Compared to the 15-member squad that lifted the Champions Trophy in the UAE, there are five changes. Ravindra Jadeja and Varun Chakravarthy have been left out, Hardik Pandya is recovering from a quadriceps injury, Rishabh Pant is still regaining fitness from a foot fracture sustained in England, and Jasprit Bumrah has been rested. Their places were taken by Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel, and Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Explaining Jadeja’s omission, Agarkar said, “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. Of course, he was there in the Champions Trophy squad, because we took those extra spinners with the conditions there (in the 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, meanwhile, has been included in the T20I squad for the five-match series that follows the ODIs. The only alteration from the Asia Cup-winning squad is Reddy replacing Hardik, with Washington added as an extra option to make it a 16-member unit.

On managing Bumrah’s workload, Agarkar noted, “We have already rested him for the one-day games. When we can manage his workload, we will do that. 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 explained.

The former right-armer hinted that Gill and Rohit would likely open the batting in the ODIs, which could leave Jaiswal out of the starting XI. He also clarified that Jurel was preferred over Sanju Samson for the ODI squad based on batting position, while KL Rahul remains 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.”

Squads:

ODIs: 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.

T20Is: 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.