3 things India need to do right in the 1st ODI vs Australia ft. Kuldeep Yadav

India are all set to commence an assortment of white-ball tours, following the conclusion of the Test series against the West Indies. The first of those will be a tour of Australia, which features three ODIs and five T20Is.

The Men in Blue will face off against the Aussies in the opening ODI at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday, October 19. Both sides aren't at full strength, but there's no doubt that Mitchell Marsh and his men have some serious talent in their ranks to challenge the 2025 Champions Trophy winners.

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.

Australia's ODI squad for the India series: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc. Games two and three only: Adam Zampa, Alex Carey, Josh Inglis.

On that note, here are three things India need to do right in the first ODI against Australia.

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#3 India should consider batting KL Rahul slightly lower than No. 5

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

Without Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, India's middle order looks thin. Although Nitish Kumar Reddy's presence will give the team a fourth pace option and a capable hitter at No. 7, it's arguable that the visitors need more experience to handle the final phase of the innings.

Axar Patel is more useful against spin than pace, and although he's not going to face much of the former in Perth, using him at No. 5 seems logical. KL Rahul has been sensational at that spot, but demoting him to make the side's finishing hopes better could be a good idea.

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#2 Picking Kuldeep Yadav is a must

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

There are reports circling that India might drop Kuldeep Yadav from their playing XI for the Perth ODI. If they field the wrist-spinner along with three specialist quicks, their batting will end at No. 7 - something head coach Gautam Gambhir is reportedly not keen on.

However, that would be a crime. Kuldeep has been one of India's best ODI bowlers for a while now and played integral roles in their campaigns in the 2023 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy. The left-arm wrist-spinner is also in sensational form, having excelled in the Asia Cup and the West Indies Tests.

India can't afford to drop Kuldeep, even at the cost of batting depth.

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#1 India need enough fast-bowling options for Perth

Sri Lanka v India - ODI Series: Game 2 - Source: Getty

Apart from Reddy, India need to give themselves three specialist pace options for the Perth ODI. Picking Mohammed Siraj is natural, while Prasidh Krishna needs to be seriously considered ahead of one of Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana.

Prasidh's ability to extract steep bounce will be useful at the Optus Stadium. Moreover, Arshdeep and Rana haven't been particularly impressive in the 50-over format so far. Irrespective of who makes the grade, India need to ensure that they have enough pace resources. And if that means consigning Washington Sundar to the bench, then that needs to be done.