In final dress rehearsal, India look to fine-tune combination

Deepankar Sharda

Mohali, September 21

The three-match India-Australia ODI series, starting with the opener here tomorrow, is nothing less than a dress rehearsal for both the teams before the World Cup.

On the eve of the first ODI, Australia skipper Pat Cummins and India coach Rahul Dravid termed the series as the ultimate test before starting their World Cup campaign against each other on October 8 in Chennai.

“In the last few years, we have played less ODIs and this series before the World Cup will be like a test for us. We will have a chance to try out our players, and we are definitely going to have rotation in the three matches,” Dravid said.

After a successful run at the Asia Cup, skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the first two games along with spinner Kuldeep Yadav and allrounder Hardik Pandya. In their absence, the hosts will have the option to test Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav. And, with Axar Patel recovering from a left quadriceps strain, the focus will be on comeback man Ravichandran Ashwin.

“He (Ashwin) is a great motivation for the team and always remains in our plans. He provides depth in batting. He brings a lot of experience, which is very essential for the team,” said Dravid.

In the absence of Sharma, local boy Shubman Gill is expected to open the innings with Ishan Kishan. However, all eyes will be on Iyer and Yadav. “We completely back him (Yadav). We believe he will do well in ODI cricket and turn things around in ODIs, and will be getting opportunities in the first two ODIs against Australia. As I said, we want players to be in their comfort zone mentally and physically before the start of the World Cup,” Dravid said.

Cummins, who is making a return from a wrist injury, confirmed that fast bowler Mitchell Starc and allrounder Glenn Maxwell will miss the opener. Starc has been recovering from a groin injury, which he sustained during the Ashes, while Maxwell will join the squad tomorrow having recovered from an ankle injury.

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