India squad announced for Australia ODIs Highlights: Both Ashwin, Sundar make the cut as IND fret over Axar's injury

KL Rahul (Captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Tilak Varma, Prasidh Krishna, R Ashwin, and Washington Sundar

Ashwin has played 10 World Cup matches, in which he has claimed 17 wickets at an average of 25. 

“I hope so." Saba Karim's response when asked about Ashwin's chances to returning to India's ODI set-up.  

As we move close towards the squad announcement, former India wicketkeeper and ex-selector Saba Karim says it's a great opportunity for the team to try out one or two more players before the World Cup.

As per reports, the Indian unit will assemble in Mohali, the venue of the 1st ODI on September 20, two days prior to the series opener.

The India vs Australia series gets underway from September 22. Here's a look at the fixture and the venues:

1st ODI: September 22 in Mohali

2nd ODI: September 24 in Indore

3rd ODI: September 27 in Rajkot

India utilised Mohammed Siraj over Mohammed Shami in the Asia Cup and the pacer surely lived upto the expectations.

While the buzz was mostly around Jasprit Bumrah's sensational comeback, Siraj's breathtaking show in the Asia Cup final helped him make a loud statement about his spot in the XI.

While India and Australia are all set to engage in a three-match series, Pakistan legend Wasim Akram called the series “unnecessary”.    

Sharing his thoughts on Star Sports, the official broadcaster of Asia Cup said: “There are different venues and traveling in India… it takes a day (between every match). You need to preserve energy before the World Cup. I don't know why they are playing three ODIs. It is probably done a long time ago, but it was a bit unnecessary. You don't want to be tired before a mega-tournament where you are favourites at home. If you want some more players in the squad, you can play those in the three ODIs against Australia.”

The upcoming three-match series against Australia serves India the perfect platform to make final assessment.

After the conclusion of the Australia series, India will engage in two warm-up fixtures before kicking-off their World Cup campaign against the Kangaroos in Chennai.

As India fret's over Axar Patel's injury, we might see Ravichandran Ashwin making a comeback to the ODI fold. Rohit during the post-match press conference after the Asia Cup final mentioned that "Ashwin is in the line" and quickly added that he is in touch with the carrom-ball specialist.

While Australia have announced a 18-member squad, the Kangaroos are grappling with fresh injury concerns that too barely three weeks before the World Cup.

All-rounder Aaron Hardie will be traveling with the Australian unit to India as cover for Sean Abbott and Nathan Ellis, both of whom picked up niggling injuries during the team's tour of South Africa.

Meanwhile, Australia have already announced their squad for the upcoming ODIs. Key players such as Pat Cummins, Steve Smith, and Mitchell Starc return to the team.

AUS squad for IND ODIs: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Spencer Johnson, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

Axar Patel took a few hit in the dead rubber against Bangladesh in the Asia Cup Super 4 stage but continued to play despite the pain.

Shubman Gill, who had scored a ton in that match, had informed that it didn't look serious and called the pain temporary. However, Washington Sundar was then flown to Colombo as last moment reinforcement.  

As per the information available Axar is dealing with an injury on his left quadriceps.

Shreyas Iyer made a return to action at the Asia Cup 2023 after a long injury lay-off. However, he was forced out of action after a couple of matches due to back spasm.

Rohit Sharma after winning the Asia Cup had confirmed that Shreyas Iyer has recovered 99 percent. 

Meanwhile, Axa Patel may miss the first two ODIs against Australia.

Hello and welcome to the live coverage of India's squad announcement for the three-match series against Australia. The squad is likely to be released at 08:30pm in the evening. Stay tuned for all the updates on the same.