Openers 

Rohit Sharma

Middle-order

Virat Kohli

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu has more or less solved Kohli’s confusion regarding the No. 4 position in ODIs after getting a hundred and a fifty in the series against the Windies back home. But, the 33-year-old batsman from Hyderabad will have a tougher test in Australia where the challenges will be different. Rayudu has certainly proved himself in the limited overs international as he has got 1447 runs from 45 ODIs at an impressive average of 51.67. He is someone who has the ability to play both as an anchor and an aggressor as per the requirements of the team which makes him a suitable choice for the crucial position of No.4. 

Kedar Jadhav batted exceedingly well in the last two matches in the ongoing Ranji Trophy for his home state where he got scores of 99 and 103 respectively. Now, after recovering from the hamstring injury and a good run in domestic cricket, Jadhav will eye to seal his spot in the ODI side for the World Cup later this year. As a part-time off-spinner, he has been very effective for the Indian team and considering the conditions at the SCG, the Indian team will want to use him effectively during the series opener as well. 

Wicket-keeper 

Amidst all the discussions, India will go into the ODI series with the very experienced MS Dhoni behind the stumps. He was not a part of the T20I series against the Windies at home and against the Aussies as well as the selectors wanted to groom someone like Rishabh Pant, but as Rohit said, the ODI side needs someone like Dhoni as a calming factor. The former skipper has been out of competitive cricket for last two months and the match-practice is going to be really important for the veteran in upcoming series Down Under. 

Ravindra Jadeja

With Hardik Pandya almost certain to get a ban after CoA chief Vinod Rai’s reactions on his controversial comments, India are likely to go ahead with left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja in Sydney. The other factors that go in favour of the Saurashtra all-rounder are his recent batting performance and the SCG track helping the spinners. Jadeja scored 81 runs and took two wickets in the fourth Test match of the series at this very ground. 

Kuldeep Yadav

There will be a headache for the team management to choose between both the wrist spinners in the side. But considering his recent five-wicket haul at the SCG, the team will go ahead with the left-armer than the leg break bowler. Kuldeep has that odd googly to surprise the Aussie batsmen and has been very effective in his career so far. He scalped four wickets in the three T20I games against Australia but was very economical which went in favour of the Indian side. 

Bhuvneshwar Kumar

After sitting on the bench for the entire duration of the Test series, Bhuvneshwar Kumar will try to get the ball do the talking from the very first game itself. Considering the fact that the World Cup is going to be played in England, Bhuvi’s skill of moving the ball will have a huge impact on the Indian team’s success. He will spearhead the Indian pace attack against the Aussies in the ODI series with pacers like Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed along with Mohammed Siraj in the squad.  

In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested for the ODIs, Mohammed Shami will look forward to improving his numbers in the ODIs. Shami is expected to share the new ball and he will try his best in picking up wickets as Bhuvi can just try and contain runs from the other end. The Bengal pacer managed to play only a couple of ODIs both against the Windies in the previous year but the six-wicket haul against Australia in the Perth Test would have given him a lot of confidence going into the ODI series.  

Khaleel Ahmed