Cummins, Smith return as Aussies asked to bat in first ODI

Australia's World Cup preparations have been given a massive boost with captain Pat Cummins and star batter Steve Smith named to return from their respective wrist injuries in tonight's first ODI in Mohali.

Victorian batter Matt Short will also make 50-over debut and is listed to bat at No.8 in what could shape as a late audition for a World Cup berth following Travis Head's injury in South Africa.

Australia XI: David Warner, Mitch Marsh, Steve Smith, Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wk), Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Short, Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa

 

India XI: Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (c, wk), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami

India captain KL Rahul won the toss at Punjab Cricket Association Stadium and sent the Aussies in with Cummins and Smith among four changes from from last Sunday's fifth ODI against South Africa.

Cummins, Smith, Short and Marcus Stoinis replace Alex Carey (rested), Tim David, Michael Neser and Nathan Ellis in the side, with Josh Inglis to keep wicket.

Mitchell Starc remains sidelined as he recovers from groin soreness but bowled off his full run for more than an hour at training on Thursday, while Glenn Maxwell is set to rejoin the squad later today in Mohali following the birth of his first child.

Short, a batting allrounder whose off-spin bowling has improved markedly in recent years, takes the position in the order usually occupied by Ashton Agar who returned home from the South African tour for the birth of his first child.

Agar made a crucial 48 not out in a match-winning eighth-wicket partnership with concussion substitute Marnus Labuschagne in the first one-day international of the series but missing the next two games with soreness before returning to Perth.

"We've got plenty of people at different stages (of recovery)," Cummins said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday.

"(Starc) will hopefully be available later in the series, he's been bowling back in Sydney and it's all going to plan … the same with Glenn Maxwell, he's got a similar timeframe to 'Starcy'.

"We'll try and strike the balance between getting plenty of game time into everyone but also we've obviously got an eye to the World Cup in a couple of weeks."

India have also made six changes from their last match on Sunday – a 10-wicket thumping of Sri Lanka in the Asia Cup final – with captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Hardik Pandya and Kuldeep Yadav rested for the first two matches.

Mohammed Siraj and Washington Sundar also sit out with Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami coming into the side.

While the three-match series serves as ideal preparation for next month's World Cup in India, Australia will also be looking to bounce back from three straight defeats that ended their South African tour.

2023 Qantas Tour of India

September 22: First ODI, Mohali (D/N), 6pm AEST

September 24: Second ODI, Indore (D/N), 6pm AEST

September 27: Third ODI, Rajkot (D/N), 6pm AEST

Australia ODI squad: Pat Cummins (c), Sean Abbott, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, 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

India squad for first two ODIs: KL Rahul (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Ishan Kishan , Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna

India squad for the third ODI: Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya, Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj