The Indian squad for the upcoming tour of Australia has been unveiled, featuring both ODI and T20 series. The announcement has been marked by discussions surrounding Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma’s return to the team, coupled with Shubman Gill’s appointment as the new captain. However, three key players, integral to India’s victory in the 2025 Champions Trophy, have been omitted. Notably, star all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and pace bowler Mohammed Shami will not be part of the squad heading to Australia.
The BCCI’s men’s selection committee revealed the team selections on Saturday, October 4th. The primary focus was on the ODI squad, with heightened anticipation for the inclusion of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The decision to replace Rohit Sharma, who had led the team to victory in the Champions Trophy just seven months prior, with Shubman Gill, was a notable surprise. While Rohit’s future was subject to speculation, many expected the recent champion captain to retain his leadership position.
Shami, a senior fast bowler who played a crucial role in India’s Champions Trophy win, has also been excluded. In the Champions Trophy, Shami secured 3 wickets in the semi-final, propelling the team into the final. He emerged as India’s most successful bowler during the tournament, accumulating 9 wickets. Despite this strong performance, he has not been selected this time. Although fitness concerns led to his omission from the Test series during the England tour, no such reason was provided for his absence this time.
Additionally, spinner Varun Chakravarthy has been left out of the squad. The mystery spinner Varun also took 9 wickets in the Champions Trophy, and was a key component in India’s success. He bowled economically, taking 2 wickets each in the semi-final and final. Despite his performance, his exclusion from the Australian tour was surprising. Chief Selector Ajit Agarkar did not provide any clarification regarding this decision. However, Varun will be participating in the T20 series.
Another significant decision was the omission of Ravindra Jadeja. Jadeja was part of the Indian team during the Champions Trophy. However, his performance during the tournament was not particularly outstanding, with only 5 wickets and 50 runs scored. Despite this, he has shown impressive batting form in the Test format recently, against England and the West Indies. Agarkar stated that Jadeja was not selected because they did not need a surplus of spinners in Australia and deemed it unnecessary to include three left-arm spinners. Agarkar confirmed Jadeja remains part of the ODI plans.
ODI Squad for the Australia Tour:
Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhrul Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal.