India playing 11 from Rohit Sharma's first ODI in Australia - where are they now?

Team India will lock horns against Australia in a three-match ODI series this month. The series opener will be held in Perth on October 19. It will be followed by the second and third ODIs in Adelaide and Sydney on October 23 and 25, respectively. The series will also mark the commencement of a new era under Shubman Gill, who replaced seasoned veteran Rohit Sharma as the new skipper of the 50-over format. The 25-year-old has big shoes to fill since Rohit guided the Men in Blue to two ICC trophies in the last two years, including the 2025 Champions Trophy.

In this article, we take a look at Rohit Sharma’s first ODI in Australia way back in 2008, when MS Dhoni was India’s skipper in the white-ball formats. The upcoming first ODI against Australia will witness a major overhaul as Rohit will play his first game solely as a player after a very long time in international cricket. Rohit remains the only player from India’s playing XI in his first-ever ODI game Down Under from the 2008 batch. The other guy is Gautam Gambhir, who is currently serving as the Head coach of Team India.

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India’s playing XI from Rohit Sharma’s first ODI in Australia ft. MS Dhoni

Top order: Virender Sehwag, Sachin Tendulkar, and Gautam Gambhir

Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar opened the innings in the series opener against Australia in Brisbane. The duo failed to deliver as Sehwag and Tendulkar perished for 6 (8) and 10 (17), respectively. The Men in Blue lost both their openers for just 26 runs. Gautam Gambhir walked in at No. 3 and steadied the ship, scoring a fighting 39 off 51 balls.

Sehwag retired from international cricket in 2015 and has been working as a cricket commentator. He recently covered the 2025 Asia Cup for the official broadcasters. On the other hand, Tendulkar bid adieu to international cricket in 2013. The legendary batter currently serves as a part-time mentor and icon for the five-time IPL-winning franchise Mumbai Indians (MI).

Meanwhile, as mentioned earlier, Gambhir has been serving as the head coach of the Indian cricket team since July 2024. He has already guided the Men in Blue to the 2025 Champions Trophy and 2025 Asia Cup glories this year.

Middle order: Rohit Sharma, Manoj Tiwary, MS Dhoni (captain), Robin Uthappa

Rohit Sharma played at No. 4 in his first ODI in Australia, scoring 29 runs off 43 deliveries. He stitched a crucial 65-run partnership with Gambhir to help the team recover from 2/26.

Manoj Tiwary, however, failed to deliver, perishing for just two runs off 16 balls he faced. Skipper MS Dhoni chipped in a valuable 37 (61), while Robin Uthappa departed for 5 (13).

Rohit will now play his first ODI after leading India to the 2025 Champions Trophy glory.

Tiwary played his last game for India in 2015 but retired from all forms of the game in 2024. The cricketer-turned-politician serves as the West Bengal Minister of State for Sports and Youth. The 39-year-old also works as an analyst.

On the other hand, MS Dhoni announced his retirement from international cricket in 2020. The 44-year-old continues to play for the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL. Meanwhile, Robin Uthappa retired from all forms of Indian cricket in 2022. He currently serves as a commentator and owns a YouTube channel where he shares his opinion about developments in Indian cricket.

Lower order: Irfan Pathan, Harbhajan Singh, S Sreesanth, and Ishant Sharma

Irfan Pathan returned wicketless in his two overs against Australia in the first ODI. Harbhajan Singh didn’t get to bowl since the match yielded no result due to rain after Australia faced 7.2 overs. S Sreesanth emerged as the leading wicket-taker with 2/17 in his 3.2 overs, while Ishant Sharma bagged one wicket.

On the batting front, Irfan and Harbhajan chipped in with valuable 21 (40) and 27 (19), respectively, to help the team reach 194.

Irfan announced his retirement from all forms of cricket in 2020. Since then, he has been working as a commentator. The former all-rounder recently started his YouTube channel, where he shares his insights about the Indian cricket team. Like Irfan, Harbhajan works as a commentator and owns a YouTube channel to share his opinion about news and development regarding the Men in Blue. The legendary off-spinner retired from all forms of cricket in 2021.

Meanwhile, Ishant Sharma is yet to announce his retirement despite playing his last game for India in 2021. The lanky fast bowler played for the Gujarat Titans (GT) in IPL 2025. The 37-year-old also represented West Delhi Lions in the 2025 Delhi Premier League (DPL).

On the other hand, S Sreesanth bid adieu to all forms of the game in 2022. He, however, played his last game for the Men in Blue in 2011. The Kerala-born player was banned for seven years due to a spot fixing allegation during IPL 2013. The speedster last played for the India Capitals in the 2023 Legends League Cricket.

Apart from cricket, Sreesanth has also acted in numerous TV shows and films. Most recently, the 42-year-old served as co-owner of Kerala Cricket League (KCL) franchise Aries Kollam Sailors. He, however, was suspended in May 2025 for his comments regarding the exclusion of Sanju Samson from the India squad for the 2025 Champions Trophy.