The Indian men’s cricket team has officially departed from New Delhi, heading to Australia for an exciting white-ball series. This tour will feature three One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and five Twenty20 Internationals (T20Is), and is particularly notable for the return of batting titans Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to international play. Rising star Shubman Gill will lead the ODI squad as the new captain, highlighting a significant leadership transition within the team.
The ODI leg of the series kicks off this Sunday at Perth’s Optus Stadium, with subsequent matches scheduled for October 23rd and 25th. Following the ODIs, the T20I series will commence on October 29th and conclude on November 8th.
Among the prominent players seen departing from Delhi airport were the new ODI captain Shubman Gill, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Dhruv Jurel, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Harshit Rana, KL Rahul, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna.
Kohli and Sharma last showcased their prowess during the Champions Trophy, where India maintained an undefeated streak. Rohit Sharma was notably honored as the Player of the Match in the final for his exceptional 76 runs off 83 balls.
Both seasoned players have now opted to specialize in a single format, having retired from T20Is after India’s T20 World Cup triumph in Barbados. They also chose to step back from Test cricket prior to the England tour.
Chief selector Ajit Agarkar confirmed the official handover of captaincy duties from Rohit Sharma to Shubman Gill. Sharma will continue to contribute to the ODI team solely as a specialist batsman.
The ODI squad heading to Australia features: Shubman Gill (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (Vice-Captain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (Wicketkeeper), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (Wicketkeeper), and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
For the T20I series, the squad includes: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill (Vice-Captain), Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (Wicketkeeper), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (Wicketkeeper), Rinku Singh, and Washington Sundar.
This leadership transition is a pivotal development as the team sets its sights on future challenges, particularly the 2027 World Cup in South Africa.