5 Players to watch out for in Australia vs India ODI series

After the T20I and Test series between India and Australia, now it's time for the 3-match ODI series. Indian team won the Test series by 2-1 and will be looking forward to win the ODI series as well. On the other hand, Australia will want to get back on their winning ways before the World Cup 2019.

The 3-match ODI series will be played from 12th to 18th January. Keeping World Cup in mind, it will be a very important series for both the teams as they'll want their team combination to get right before the mega event.

The squad of both the teams for ODI series has already been announced. Australia have announced a little inexperienced revamped squad. There are some surprise inclusions in the Aussie squad in form of Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon and Peter Siddle. On the other hand, the Indian Squad is looking well-balanced.

Here, we'll take a look at five players from both the teams to watch out for in the ODI series between India and Australia.

#5 Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed

Khaleel Ahmed is one of the emerging young talents of India. He has played for the Indian U-19 team before representing the senior team. The 21-year-old has been very impressive since his debut in the Asia Cup 2018. The left-arm pacer took 3 wickets in his debut match against Hong-Kong. His performance in the home series against West Indies was also quite impressive.

Khaleel Ahmed could be the third seamer, Indian team is looking for in ODIs. He also brings a variety to the Indian fast-bowling attack with his left-arm fast bowling.

So far, Khaleel has played just 6 ODIs and has picked 11 wickets from them at an average from 24.00.

Having performed on spin-friendly pitches, Khaleel would be very eager to perform on fast and bouncy pitches of Australia as these pitches will suit his bowling. He will surely want to cement his place in the Indian team by making a mark in the ODI series against Australia.

#4 Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon

Nathan Lyon's inclusion in the Australian ODI squad, was a big surprise as he hasn't played any One-day International for a long time. Nathan Lyon played just 2 matches in the format in 2018.

The off-spinner has always been seen as a test specialist and is one of the best test spinners at the moment. Despite playing his most of the matches on seam-friendly Australian wickets, his test numbers are excellent as he has picked 339 wickets from 84 matches at an average of 32.10. However, his ODI numbers are not impressive as he has picked just 18 wickets from 15 matches at an ordinary average of 36.77 with 4/44 being his best figures.

After being picked up for the ODIs, Lyon will surely want to prove himself in the 50-over format as well. It will be worth watching how Nathan Lyon will perform in his comeback series against India.

#3 Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu

Ambati Rayudu is one of the most underrated players in Indian cricket. In spite of performing consistently in domestic cricket, Rayudu has never been a regular part of the Indian team.

However, the right-hand batsman recently made his comeback in the home series against West Indies. His performance was quite impressive in his comeback series as he scored 217 runs from 4 innings at an impressive average of 72.33 and strike rate of 101.40. He also scored a century in the series.

Rayudu's overall ODI numbers are very impressive. The 33-year-old has scored a total of 1447 runs from 40 innings at an excellent average of 51.67 with unbeaten 124 being his highest score. Meanwhile, he has scored 9 half-centuries and 3 centuries.

Rayudu will be very crucial at number 4 for the Indian team in the Australian series. He will surely want to continue his form in the Australian series as well.

#2 Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja

Usman Khawaja's selection in the Australian ODI squad also came as a surprise as he hasn't played any One-day international for Australia for a long time. He last featured in any ODI way back in January 2017.

Usman Khawaja is someone who is yet to prove himself in the 50-over format. Khawaja's ODI numbers are not impressive as he has scored just 469 runs from 17 innings at a modest average of 31.26 and strike rate of 82.28 with 98 being his highest. Meanwhile, he has scored just 4 half-centuries. However, his List A record is excellent as he has scored 3524 runs from 84 innings at an average of 45.76.

The classy left-hand batsmen will surely want to prove himself in ODI series against India. It will be interesting to watch how Usman Khawaja will perform in his comeback series.

#5 Mahendra Singh Dhoni

MS Dhoni

There is no doubt that MS Dhoni in one of the best wicket-keeper batsmen to play for India ever but he was at his lowest in 2018. One of the best finishers in limited-over cricket, MS Dhoni has found it tough to perform in recent times. His performance in ODIs in 2018 was not up to the mark. The veteran managed to score just 275 runs from 13 innings at a modest average of 25.00 and a strike rate of 71.43. Dhoni has not scored even a single half-century during this period. It was one of the worst years for MSD in his career.

However, MS Dhoni was exceptional as always behind the stumps in 2018 with 27 dismissals. Meanwhile, He snared 17 catches and effected 10 stumpings.

MS Dhoni is a kind of batsmen who can win change the course of the match single handedly. So he will be very crucial for the Indian team in World Cup 2019. He'll surely want to get back in form in the Australian series before the World Cup 2019. So he will be a player to watch out for in the ODI series.