Aussies pick five allrounders against India, Inglis returns

Australian selectors have picked an allrounder-heavy XI for the first of three one-day internationals against India, as the in-form Josh Inglis returns to the side in Mumbai.

Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell and Marcus Stoinis will all line up for the Aussies in the series opener, as both sides begin to ramp up World Cup preparations.

Bowling allrounder Sean Abbott has also been selected and is set to bat at number nine for the tourists with Mitchell Starc named at No.10, underlining Australia’s preference for a deep batting lineup as India skipper Hardik Pandya won the toss and sent Steve Smith's side in.

India XI: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami

Australia XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa

Marsh was set to open the batting alongside Travis Head after David Warner failed to get up for the clash following a concussion and hairline fracture of the elbow suffered during the second Test of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.

Inglis, who has scored two centuries in his last four innings for Western Australia, replaces regular ODI wicketkeeper Alex Carey who withdrew from Friday’s game due to illness.

Selection Chair George Bailey said they would look to tinker with the side until they settled on an XI for the World Cup later this year.

“From now until the World Cup the focus will be on building depth and combinations to a point where we want them,” Bailey said.

“The aim is still to win every game but at times it may mean people who are performing well may miss a match.

“David (Warner) is coming along nicely and a few more days of rehabilitation will be extremely beneficial. We expect him to play games two and three.”

Both Australia and India enter the match in strong ODI form, having won each of their last six and seven games respectively.

Qantas ODI Tour of India 2023

First ODI: Friday March 17, Mumbai (7pm AEDT)

Second ODI: Sunday March 19, Vizag (7pm AEDT)

Third ODI: Wednesday March 22, Chennai (7pm AEDT)

All matches broadcast live and exclusive on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports

Australia squad: Steve Smith (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, David Warner, Adam Zampa

India squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, K L Rahul, Ishan Kishan (wk), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umran Malik, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Jaydev Unadkatt