India's stand-in ODI captain Hardik Pandya has confirmed the new opening batters for the first ODI against Australia at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. While speaking in the press conference ahead of the first game, Pandya stated that Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill will open the innings as Rohit Sharma will be out of the squad for this fixture.
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Before this three-game 50-over series, India defeated Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy with a 2-1 margin. Pandya along with confirming the new opening pair spoke about the pitch. The Gujarat Titans' skipper believes that the wicket will benefit both teams equally.
Pandya said, “Ishan and Shubman will be opening. The wicket looks how it is throughout the year. I have played here for almost seven years and it is one of the finest grounds I have played on. It’s going to be challenging since this wicket will give equal opportunities to both sides.”
Further in the press conference, Hardik Pandya talked about Jasprit Bumrah’s injury status. Pandya spoke about how the Indian bowling attack has managed to fill the void created by Bumrah’s absence. He also stated that the team isn't worried about Bumrah and is focusing on the next challenge.
“There’s no long-term plan as such. Jassi hasn’t been around for quite some time now. The bowling group has been doing a decent job. They’re all experienced now… with the number of games they have played. Having Jassi makes a massive difference but to be very honest, we aren’t much bothered because the guys who have taken the role of Jassi, I am quite confident they’ll be doing very well.”
India's Playing XI for 1st ODI (Probable): Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Hardik Pandya (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav
India's squad for the Australia series:
Rohit Sharma (c), Yuzvendra Chahal, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Mohammad Siraj, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Jaydev Unadkat, Washington Sundar, Suryakumar Yadav.
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