India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI Both Teams Likely Best Playing 11
With Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli returning, here’s the likely best playing 11 for both teams for the India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI match.
Rohit Sharma as opener, and Virat Kohli at the number 3 position. Yes, it’s been only a few months, but it feels like ages since we last saw two of our most prolific ODI batters to have graced the game with their presence. After having retired from the T20Is and Tests, the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli has been largely felt from an emotional standpoint. Sure, the Indian team has been doing pretty good overall, but there’s an emotional drain without the RoKo Superhit jodi.
But the wait is almost over as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are returning for the 3-match ODI series vs Australia. What a moment this would be for cricket fans across the globe. They have been waiting for this moment for a long time, but will finally be rewarded for their patience. And what better opposition than the World Champions, Australia? Both will be eager to give their best against the team that stopped their dream in 2023.
But one important change that we will see in this team, as compared to last year’s World Cup, is Shubman Gill leading the team in place of Rohit Sharma. India are looking at WC 2027, and they want Gill to be comfortable in the role for the World Cup. So, with this important change, let’s analyse the squads of both teams, and find out the likely best playing 11 for the India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI playing 11 for both teams.
Key Match Details
Tour Details: India Tour of Australia 2025
Match Details: India vs Australia 1st ODI Match
Where: Perth
When: October 19, 9 am IST
India vs Australia 2025 ODI Squad Decoded
Team India have selected a strong squad for the ODI series, but it has two key players missing. While Hardik Pandya has been ruled out due to injury, Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the ODI series. With these two key players missing, the team has added Nitish Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, and Prasidh Krishna to the squad. Whereas from the last Champions Trophy squad, the team will be without Varun Chakravarthy, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, and Mohammed Shami.
India vs Australia 2025 ODI Series Official Squad and Players List
Batters
- Rohit Sharma
- Shreyas Iyer
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Virat Kohli
- Yashasvi Jaiswal
WKs
- Dhruv Jurel
- KL Rahul
All-rounders
- Axar Patel
- Nitish Reddy
- Washington Sundar
Bowlers
- Arshdeep Singh
- Harshit Rana
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
- Prasidh Krishna
The team will be excited to see Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli back in the side. The batting combination should continue as we had seen in the Champions Trophy 2025. Shubman Gill and Rohit Sharma should continue to open the innings with Virat Kohli playing at the number 3 position. The middle-order should rely on Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul. Whereas the finishing duties should rely on Axar Patel and Nitish Reddy.
If we talk about the replacements for Team India, the absence of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will hit the team combination badly. While India will play Nitish Reddy in his place, India may not want to play a second spin AR at Perth. So, Team India will mostly have to go without batting depth in the ODI series. So, Harshit Rana will ideally play at number 8 as a lower-order batter with the top 7 solid batting fixed.
For the bowling, the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami means the Indian team will rely on Mohammed Siraj and Arshdeep Singh to lead the bowling attack. With support from Harshit Rana, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Nitish Reddy, the bowling attack seems sorted. However, in case India decide to play an extra batter like Dhruv in place of Nitish at 7, then India will be devoid of that sixth bowler.
India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI Likely Best Playing 11
- Shubman Gill (c)
- Rohit Sharma
- Virat Kohli
- Shreyas Iyer
- KL Rahul (wk)
- Axar Patel
- Nitish Reddy
- Harshit Rana
- Arshdeep Singh
- Kuldeep Yadav
- Mohammed Siraj
India vs Australia 2025 ODI Series Official Squad and Players List for Aussies
Batters
- Matthew Renshaw
- Matthew Short
- Mitchell Owen
- Travis Head
WKs
- Alex Carey
- Josh Inglis
- Josh Philippe
All-rounders
- Cameron Green
- Cooper Connolly
- Mitchell Marsh
Bowlers
- Adam Zampa
- Ben Dwarshuis
- Josh Hazlewood
- Matthew Khunemann
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Ellis
- Xavier Bartlett
If we talk about the best playing 11 for Australia, the team is filled with batting stars. Right from Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh at the top to Matthew Short, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis, and Alex Carey in the middle-order. The bowling lineup shall miss the services of Pat Cummins, but Nathan Ellis is an equally competent bowler. So, overall, Aussies look really strong, and can exploit the vulnerable bowling attack of Team India.
India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI Likely Best Playing 11 for Aussies
- Travis Head
- Mitchell Marsh
- Matthew Short
- Cameron Green
- Josh Inglis
- Alex Carey
- Mitchell Owen
- Adam Zampa
- Josh Hazlewood
- Mitchell Starc
- Nathan Ellis
So, that’s about the best playing 11 for India vs Australia 2025 1st ODI. Overall, India look feeble in the bowling department, and that is an area which India should strengthen if they are serious about beating Australia. But India are looking at this series just from an experimentation point of view, then they will look at playing 3 ARs and 3 front-line bowlers. What’s your playing 11 for the 1st ODI? Please share your thoughts on business@cricalytics.com.
