AUS vs IND 2025: Why is Kuldeep Yadav not playing in AUS vs IND 1st ODI?

Published - 19 Oct 2025, 08:47 IST | Updated - 19 Oct 2025, 08:53 IST

Australia are set to face India in a three-match ODI series, with the first game scheduled for Sunday, October 19, in Perth. The Mitchell Marsh-led side has endured a poor run in ODIs this year, losing all their series so far and also suffering defeat against India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Meanwhile, India have enjoyed a stellar ODI campaign, remaining unbeaten throughout the year. Both teams will be eager to start the series strongly and gain the upper hand over the other.

Australian skipper Mitchell Marsh won the toss and opted to bowl first, noting that the wicket looks good with a bit of moisture and expressing hope for a strong start. Indian captain Shubman Gill mentioned that he, too, would have preferred to bowl first, as he anticipates a possible stop-and-start game. He added that the team is in good shape and that the practice sessions have helped them adapt well to the different conditions.

Both teams have fielded a fresh set of players in their XIs. The hosts, meanwhile, handed debuts to Matt Renshaw and Mitchell Owen, while India opted to rest Kuldeep Yadav, bringing in two spin-bowling all-rounders instead — Axar Patel and Washington Sundar. Nitish Kumar Reddy is also making his ODI debut for the Men in Blue.

We're going to bowl first. It looks like a pretty good wicket, hopefully it's hard and fast. There's a little bit of moisture around, so hopefully we can make the most of that today. It's always a huge honour to captain the country, but to do it in front of a somewhat home crowd, it's always exciting. (Preparation) It's been great. The guys got in on Wednesday. We've had three great days of training. It's always a big build-up, Australia versus India and what's going to be a huge summer for Australian cricket. So, hopefully we can get off to a good start. (Morale) It's great. We've got some good young players, lots of power, so it's going to be hopefully exciting and entertaining. Seven batters, one keeper and four bowlers .. six batters? Anyway, I'm not good at maths.

I would have bowled first as well. Looking at the weather, there might be a stop-and-play game, but it looks like a pretty good surface, so hopefully we get some runs on the board. (On the preparation) It's all about getting mentally ready. Most of the players - we were playing in India and then coming and travelling here together for a couple of days of practice. So, I think we're in a good mental space. The practice sessions definitely help adjusting on the kind of surfaces that you play. We are in good shape. We have got a great combination of experienced players and some of the gun players that we have in our team. Nitish Reddy makes his debut and we're going with three fast bowlers and three all-rounders.

Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(c), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul(w), Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh