3 players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the Australia ODI series ft. Rohit Sharma

Soon after their ongoing Test series against the West Indies, India will travel to Australia for three ODIs and five T20Is. The BCCI recently announced the team's squads for the tour.

The ODI squad witnessed a few surprises. Shubman Gill has been named as the captain of the side, taking over from Rohit Sharma. Meanwhile, Dhruv Jurel has been picked as the backup wicket-keeper.

India’s ODI squad for the Australia tour: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal.

It's arguable that not all of the names picked have airtight cases to be part of the tour. On that note, here are three players who were lucky to be picked in India's squad for the Australia ODI series.

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#3 Rohit Sharma

India v New Zealand: Final - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Rohit Sharma has revolutionized how India approach powerplay batting in ODIs, and his leadership has been nothing short of extraordinary. However, it's safe to say that the time for the team to move on from the legendary batter has come.

Rohit has scored only four centuries in his last 52 ODIs, and his ability to play long knocks has deserted him. The opening batter's quick starts have been useful, but teams now need their openers to maintain their tempo for a longer period of time. With him not being part of the Test and T20I sides anymore, he might not get enough time in the middle to work on his game and build some rhythm.

Yashasvi Jaiswal is certainly capable of doing the role Rohit currently performs, and he will, in all likelihood, do it better. With significant doubts over whether the former skipper will be fit and in form for the 2027 World Cup, dropping him would have been understandable.

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#2 Arshdeep Singh

India v New Zealand: Final - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Arshdeep Singh is part of a select group of pacers who are in the mix across formats right now for India. However, his List A numbers aren't particularly encouraging, and his recent form in the format has been disappointing.

Arshdeep couldn't make a big impact in the match India A played against Australia A, going for 44 runs in four overs without picking up a wicket, while his ODI form has been hit and miss as well. The left-arm seamer has neither been penetrative with the new ball nor reliable through the middle overs, and while his death-bowling ability gives him an edge, it's hard to see where his skills lie exactly.

Arshdeep was always going to make the squad, though, and it's understandable that the selectors want to trust him. He is a lucky beneficiary of the fact that India's pace stocks are thin right now. So is...

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#1 Harshit Rana

Pakistan v India - ICC Champions Trophy 2025 - Source: Getty

Another exciting talent who hasn't quite cracked the ODI format, Harshit Rana has immense potential. His ability to hit hard lengths and bowl high speeds will be useful in Australia, so his presence in the squad isn't particularly surprising.

However, like Arshdeep, there's nothing on paper to suggest that Rana deserves a spot in the 50-over side. His List A economy rate is almost six, and he is neither reliable with the new ball nor at the death. The 23-year-old can bat a bit and has a few variations in his locker, but ODIs have evolved in a way that demands fast bowlers to be more complete packages.