SWOT analysis of India's ODI squad for the Australian tour

India vs Australia is certainly one of the most intense rivalries in world cricket. Some of the best cricketers in the world shall take on each other in what promises to be a mouth-watering encounter.

The Indian team haven’t done too well in ODI cricket this year. After defeating Australia 2-1 at home, they were whitewashed by New Zealand in the three-match series. Australia, too, have been lackluster, with 3 wins and 6 losses. They defeated England 2-1 in their backyard just before the IPL. However, they lost 3-0 to South Africa in March. Both teams would be looking to set their record straight in this series.

The ODI squad did not have many surprises barring the exclusion of an unfit Rohit Sharma. In his absence, KL Rahul has been handed over the vice-captaincy of the team. We will analyze the squad that shall be in action from November 27th, as Aaron Finch and Virat Kohli battle it out at the Sydney Cricket Ground.

ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper).

Strengths:

India have finally been able to get the solution to fix their No.4 conundrum in ODI cricket- Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai youngster has established himself at the position post the 2019 WC- with 398 runs in 8 innings at an average of 56.86 and a strike-rate of 98.03. This includes 4 half-centuries, and a hundred. He was impressive in the New Zealand tour, getting a hundred and two 50s in the three-match ODI series in February 2020.

Slotting KL Rahul at number 5 has also been a genius move by the team management. KL has grabbed the opportunity with both hands, with scores of 80, 88*, 4, 112 in the 4 matches he played against Australia and New Zealand post the 2019 WC. This allows Mayank Agarwal, Shikhar Dhawan, and youngsters like Shubman Gill and Prithvi Shaw an opportunity to prove themselves as the 2nd opener alongside Rohit Sharma.

Another noteworthy point is that India have their best bowlers fit and raring to go for this intense clash. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, and Yuzvendra Chahal are coming off the back of a brilliant IPL season. While the IPL may not necessarily be the best indicator for ODI cricket, it does give an insight into the match readiness of the players. India had defeated Australia earlier in the year, clinching the series 2-1 after suffering a 10-wicket loss in the first game.