Cricket: 3 major talking points after Australia take lead in India white-ball series against India
Lack of playing time affecting stalwarts Sharma and Kohli?
In the lead-up to India’s tour of Australia, the India selection panel sprung a massive surprise by naming Shubman Gill as the team’s ODI captain, replacing Rohit Sharma and overlooking fellow veteran Virat Kohli.
Sharma and Kohli both called time on their Test and T20 careers earlier this year, and there was speculation that the team’s selectors were attempting to force the two stalwarts out of the team as they look to usher in new blood, building up for the 2027 World Cup.
Neither player has played much cricket since the Indian Premier League, and there are now growing concerns that their lack of match fitness may affect the team's performance after producing underwhelming performances in the opening match of the competition.
Sharma opened the batting at the Optus Stadium on Sunday but only lasted 3.4 overs before falling to Josh Hazelwood, while Kohli only saw eight deliveries before he was sent back to the pavilion without troubling the score.
While there is no indication that either player will be dropped for the upcoming fixture, the pressure is now firmly on the experienced duo to deliver in the second match on Thursday at the Adelaide Oval, and you can check out our cricket predictions for that fixture ahead of the toss.
Who will step up in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah?
Aside from India’s batting unit, there are also major questions surrounding their bowlers, with Jasprit Bumrah not expected to feature in this ODI series as part of his ongoing workload management since returning from injury.
Bumrah featured for the Men in Blue in both Test matches against the West Indies earlier this month, which was a move that divided opinion, as India would likely have won that series even if their star paceman was rested.
In the opening match against the Aussies, Mohammed Siraj was handed the new ball alongside Arshdeep Singh, but the pair only managed one wicket between them, and never really looked likely to trouble the Australian top order.
Harshit Rana also failed to make an impact as the first change-up, leaving India with a major conundrum for the next two games, given that they brought three specialist spinners Down Under for the ODI series.
Mitchell Marsh delivers in Pat Cummins’ absence
Australia were dealt several major injury blows just before this series could kick off, with the most notable being that of skipper Pat Cummins, who is also reportedly likely to miss out the first Test of the upcoming Ashes.
However, despite his influence on the team, the Baggy Greens, stand-in skipper Mitchell Marsh put many concerns to bed on Sunday, when he led the team to victory with an outstanding knock of 46 from 52 deliveries in challenging conditions.
Similarly, Australia’s new-look bowling attack also delivered, with Mitchell Owen bagging 2/20 in three overs and Matthew Kuhnemann picking up 2/26 in four overs, providing excellent support to openers Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
