India vs Australia: Toss up between Jaydev Unadkat and Khaleel Ahmed for ODI series

After a successful stint in Australia and New Zealand, India don’t have a whole lot of games before they play the World Cup, which is scheduled to start on Thursday, May 30 in England and Wales. The Men in Blue are the two-time World Champions and a lot would be expected of them. Prior to that, they would be playing in a couple of limited-overs home series against Aussies.

Their campaign consists of two T20Is and five ODIs. The 20-overs fixtures are set to start on Sunday, February 24 in Visakhapatnam. The series can also turn out to be a make or break for the Indian team. The hosts’ squad would be announced tomorrow and a number of players would be hoping to cement their places in the squad, two of them are Jaydev Unadkat and Khaleel Ahmed.

Who will get the nod?

Unadkat picked up wickets for Saurashtra in the Ranji Trophy and is in the selection committee’s plans as per reports in Hindustan Times. The left-arm speedster last donned the national colours in the Nidahas Trophy back in March 2018. Khaleel, on the other hand, was a part of the Australia and New Zealand series. He faltered in the ODI series and didn’t pick up a wicket.

Nevertheless, the Rajasthan-born came into his own in the three-match T20I series against the Black Caps and finished with four wickets from three games. In the meantime, KL Rahul, who has been fighting with controversies and poor form, has come into the mix after a couple of gutsy half-centuries in the two-match unofficial Test series against England Lions.

Rohit Sharma, who generally captains in the absence of Virat Kohli, may also be rested in order to keep him afresh before the mega event in May. The series will also be crucial for the likes of Dinesh Karthik and Rishabh Pant, both of whom would be desperate to be selected as the back-up wicketkeeper-batsman for MS Dhoni for the upcoming World Cup.

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