The first ODI will be played on Jan 12.
The first match will be played in Sydney at the beautiful SCG and Team COC presents to you the predicted Team India XI for the match.
With India scheduled to play majorly limited overs games from here on till the 2019 World Cup, the opening combination of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma might definitely be looking to get some big partnerships under their belts. Dhawan had a very good T20I series which preceded the Test series, while Rohit scored some important runs in the Tests and T20Is.
Virat Kohli with a historic Test series win under his belt, will be looking forward to continuing his same form in the ODIs as well. Ambati Rayudu is favored to continue at the no.4 spot, after scoring some important runs, including a century in the ODI series against the Windies. He has the backing of the captain and the coach to flourish at the position in upcoming ODI matches.
MS Dhoni returns to the team as the wicketkeeper and no.5 position batsman. He had a poor 2018 with the bat and will hope to turn around his fortunes in 2019. The most likely candidate for the no.6 spot will be all-rounder Kedar Jadhav. With his ability to finish matches and hit big runs, combined with his low arm bowling, Jadhav plays his role perfectly in the team.
For the pick of quick bowlers and with Bumrah rested, the onus of bowling in death overs is most likely to fall on Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was unfortunate, not to get a match in the Test series. He might be partnered by Mohammad Shami and Khaleel Ahmed.
The road to 2019 World Cup begins from here for Team India and they will want to start on the winning note.
COC Predicted India playing XI:
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (C), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Shami, Khaleel Ahmed