The Ajit Agarkar-headed selection committee is all set to pick the squads for the Australia tour on Saturday (October 4). Team India is scheduled to tour Australia for 3 ODIs and 5 T20Is. The selectors will pick both squads together. Rishabh Pant, who was part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning and 2025 Champions Trophy-winning squads, is set to miss the Australia tour due to a foot injury. India will have another backup for KL Rahul in ODIs.
PTI has reported that Sanju Samson could pip Dhruv Jurel for a place in the ODI team. Jurel plays under Samson at Rajasthan Royals (RR). He has never been part of the ODI team.
As for Samson, he is capped in ODIs. The wicketkeeper-batsman has 510 runs in 14 innings he has played in 50-over cricket. Samson last played an ODI against South Africa in December 2023. He was dropped for the Sri Lanka ODI series in 2024.
Samson has kept his place in the T20I squad but isn’t a regular in ODIs. He could be Rahul’s backup in the ODI series. There are no doubts over his spot in the T20I team.
He and Jitesh Sharma are likely to be two wicketkeepers in the T20I squad. Samson played all matches in the Asia Cup in he middle-order while Jitesh remained on the bench.
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No Hardik Pandya
Apart from Rishabh, India will also be without the services of Hardik Pandya. The star all-rounder missed the Asia Cup final due to a quadricep injury and is set to stay out of the Australia tour. India will need his replacement in the ODI and T20I teams.
India tour of Australia fixtures
The India tour of Australia will kick off with three ODIs to be played on October 19, 23 and 25 in Perth, Adelaide and Sydney, respectively. The five T20Is will be played on October 29, 31, November 2, 6 and 8 in Canberra, Melbourne, Hobart, Gold Coast and Brisbane, respectively.
