India's strongest playing XI for the ODI series vs Australia ft. Nitish Kumar Reddy & Yashasvi Jaiswal

The BCCI recently announced India's squads for the upcoming bilateral series against Australia. The Men in Blue will play three ODIs and five T20Is Down Under, with the 50-over series commencing on Sunday, October 19.

Shubman Gill will lead India in the ODI format, with Shreyas Iyer serving as his deputy. The 2023 World Cup runners-up will be without Jasprit Bumrah, who has been rested, and Hardik Pandya, who suffered an injury in the semi-final of the 2025 Asia Cup.

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.

On that note, here is India's strongest playing XI for the ODI series against Australia.

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Openers: Shubman Gill (c) and Yashasvi Jaiswal

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Captain Shubman Gill has been one of the world's best ODI batters since his debut and will continue to occupy a spot at the top of the order. While Rohit Sharma has partnered him over the last few years and is predicted to do so in Australia as well, India's strongest playing XI might actually feature Yashasvi Jaiswal.

Rohit has managed only four centuries in his last 52 ODIs, and while he has adopted a more high-risk approach, there's reason to believe that Jaiswal is more suited to doing that role. The former captain is showing clear signs of decline, averaging under 40 in the ongoing calendar year.

India won't pick Rohit and then bench him, so he can be expected to feature. Howevr, whether he belongs in the best XI the team can put out is debatable.

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Middle Order: Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (wk), Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy

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Picking the middle order is a straightforward task in Hardik Pandya's absence.

Virat Kohli hasn't played top-level cricket in a while, and India will hope that he doesn't show any signs of rustiness. Shreyas Iyer, newly named as the vice-captain, will slot in at No. 4.

KL Rahul will bat at No. 5 and don the gloves, a role he has excelled at in recent times. Dhruv Jurel, picked ahead of Sanju Samson, will serve as his backup.

In Hardik's absence, India will want a part-time pace option who can double up as the sixth bowler. Nitish Kumar Reddy should be the man entrusted with the role, although the Men in Blue are clearly short of options on this front.

Axar Patel and Washington Sundar might not be able play in tandem in Australia without compromising the pace attack. Sundar could replace Kuldeep Yadav, but the left-arm wrist-spinner is a huge weapon through the middle overs. So the off-spinning all-rounder should start on the bench, with Axar batting as a floater in the middle order.

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Lower Order: Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj

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India will probably need three specialist quicks in Hardik and Bumrah's absence.

Mohammed Siraj is an obvious pick, while Arshdeep Singh could be preferred due to his left-arm angle and death-bowling ability. The third pacer's role could fall to Prasidh Krishna, who has been deadly in ODIs and can extract steep bounce from Australian wickets.

Kuldeep should feature, although this would be at the expense of batting depth.