Five ODI questions for Aussies in India

Will Meg Lanning pick up where she left off?

Australia captain Meg Lanning is set to make her return after a seven-month injury lay-off, with the 26-year-old champing at the bit to get back out into the middle. Even while battling a shoulder injury for 12 months prior to going under the knife, Lanning still managed to score three ODI tons and two unbeaten half-centuries. She's already scored more one-day tons than any other woman and averages 54.52 in the format, so all eyes will be on Lanning to see how quickly she can return to the record-breaking form that's typified the first seven years of her international career.

Australia coach Matthew Mott says: "Meg is really champing at the bit to get back involved. She's done a lot of work in rehab and she's nervously excited as well. She brings almost the youthfulness of a debut series into the group – she's quite nervous about getting back, but it won't take long for her to filter back into the side and her leadership in conjunction with (vice-captain) Rachael Haynes is a really strong unit."

Who replaces Tahlia McGrath?

Two changes will be made from the most recent XI that played England during the multi-format Ashes last October, following the retirement of vice-captain Alex Blackwell and an injury to young allrounder Tahlia McGrath. Lanning is the obvious player to fill the hole left by Blackwell, but there are three candidates for the position left open by the absence of McGrath.

The frontrunner to come in for McGrath is uncapped NSW and Thunder pace-bowling allrounder Nicola Carey, who is the most like-for-like replacement for the South Australian, who has been sidelined with stress fractures. Fellow uncapped allrounder Sophie Molineux – who offers a slow-bowling option with her left-arm orthodox – and NSW quick Belinda Vakarewa are the other candidates to be called into the team.

Mott says: "It's really wide open, I'm not being cagey about it. It will come down to gut feel. We'll sit down as a leadership group and work out what's going to work in the conditions. We obviously don't know a heap about some of venues we're play at. We've done our research but until we get there and have a look (then we'll) see what balance we go with."

Can Beth Mooney force her way into the ODI team?

Opening batter Beth Mooney was the unlucky player squeezed out of Australia's ODI XI during the Ashes as selectors sought to bring in an additional bowler to provide a more balanced line-up. She hit back in stunning fashion during the T20 portion of the multi-format series with knocks of 86no, 17 and 117no, before being named ICC T20 Player of the Year. She followed up with a strong Rebel WBBL campaign, but whether or not she can break back into the Australian batting order – which contains no shortage of form players in Alyssa Healy, Nicole Bolton, Meg Lanning, Ellyse Perry, Elyse Villani and Rachael Haynes – is another question. 

Mott says: "Beth's T20 form for Australia was exceptional and being named World T20 Player of the Year is very good. She offers plenty to our squad and she had a very good WBBL as well. All of our players are in good form, so it will come down to gut feel in the end and we'll have an unlucky batter or two miss out."

Have Australia developed a way to handle the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur?

Australia's 50-over World Cup campaign came to a sudden end in the semi-finals in Derby last July thanks largely to a stunning performance from India star Harmanpreet Kaur. The Southern Stars bowling attack had no answers to her big-hitting onslaught, which saw Harmanpreet plunder 171no from 115 deliveries, propelling India to 4-281 from a reduced 42 overs – a score that ultimately proved out of Australia's reach. It prompted changes to the Southern Stars XI in the Ashes, as they brought in an extra allrounder in a bid to boost their bowling options and allow for greater flexibility when under fire. 

Mott says: "One thing about the (Ashes) series, having a number of bowling options was really good for us and if teams come at us and attack us like India did in the World Cup semi-final, we feel like we've got a more equipped bowling unit to execute Plan Bs a bit better as well."

How will the public support of India have changed since their World Cup final appearance?

The other major outcome of India's stunning semi-final victory – and the narrow defeat to England in the final – was a huge groundswell of support for the team among Indian cricket fans. Mithali Raj's team are attracting more attention than ever before and this series against Australia, their first on home soil since that tournament in the UK, will be an interesting measure of how much that support has grown. Both the three-match ODI series and T20 tri-series (also featuring England) that will follow will be televised in India – and in exciting news for Australian fans, it will be broadcast on Fox Sports! 

Mott says: "(I've been told) there's been a huge surge in the popularity of women's cricket, which makes sense when there's a billion people who are cricket crazy and who love the game. It was only a matter of time I think. Unfortunately, we were probably the catalyst, losing the semi-final of the World Cup, and a lot of their players stood up and made names for themselves. So one good thing to come out of (that loss) is that it's opened the eyes of the Indian public about the strength of women's cricket and I think the whole world game is better for it."

Australia tour of India

Australia ODI squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicole Bolton, Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Belinda Vakarewa, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

Australia T20 squad: Meg Lanning (c), Rachael Haynes (vc), Nicola Carey, Ashleigh Gardner, Alyssa Healy, Jess Jonassen, Delissa Kimmince, Sophie Molineux, Beth Mooney, Ellyse Perry, Megan Schutt, Naomi Stalenberg, Elyse Villani, Amanda-Jade Wellington

India ODI squad: Mithali Raj (c), Harmanpreet Kaur (vc), Smriti Mandhana, Punam Raut, Jemimah Rodrigues, Veda Krishnamurthy, Mona Meshram, Sushma Verma, Ekta Bisht, Poonam Yadav, Rajeshwari Gayakwad, Shikha Pandey, Sukanya Parida, Pooja Vastrakar, Deepti Sharma

Warm-up match v India A, BKC Ground, Mumbai, March 8

Warm-up match v India A, BKC Ground, Mumbai, March 6

ODI series

First ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 12

Second ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 15

Third ODI Vadodara International Cricket Stadium, March 18

T20I tri-series

First T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 22

Second T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 23

Third T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 25

Fourth T20I Australia v India, Brabourne Stadium, March 26

Fifth T20I Australia v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 28

Sixth T20I India v England, Brabourne Stadium, March 29

Final Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai, March 31