For any bilateral series involving India and Australia, you expect a menu card comprising some spicy flavours. The narrative surrounding the 2023 ODI rubber between the countries, however, is a bit different. With the World Cup on the horizon, India and Australia would look to fine-tune a few areas of concern and strike the right balance. For the visitors, the series is also important in the context of acclimatizing to the prevailing conditions in India.
India
India would be brimming with confidence after hoisting the Asia Cup trophy. Despite touching lofty heights in Sri Lanka, there are a couple of worry lines to tackle. Shreyas Iyer’s back issue is one of them. Even though Rohit Sharma, the India skipper, said that Iyer is “99 per cent” fit, and he was subsequently included in the squad for the Australia series, there would still be question marks over his injury issues.
Back problems tend to be persistent by nature. Iyer has already gone under the knife once, so the think-tank would be slightly wary about his fitness. In case he misses out on a game or two in the series against Australia or the World Cup, KL Rahul is set to take over the crucial No. 4 slot. Rahul, who has turned out to be India’s utility cricketer like his coach and namesake once was, has returned to full fitness and put on a wonderful exhibition of batting against Pakistan in a Super Fours game in the Asia Cup.
There has also been criticism over the think-tank backing Suryakumar Yadav despite his rather modest records in ODIs. Although Suryakumar has the game to become India’s game-breaker, he averages a mere 24.4 in 27 ODIs. The think-tank, however, still seems to have complete faith in Suryakumar. “We completely back Suryakumar Yadav, we believe he will turn it around in ODI, will be getting opportunity in the first 2 ODIs,” Rahul Dravid, the India coach, said ahead of the first ODI.
India have another conundrum, and that is surrounding Axar Patel. He seemed to mostly be bowling left-arm darts in the Asia Cup. He looked in better rhythm in the Super Fours match against Bangladesh and finished with figures of 1 for 47. In the recent past, Axar used to get a bit more turn, alongside getting it to undercut, and bowled the arm-ball. Intriguingly, by adapting more of a front-on stance, Axar has upgraded his batting.
Axar also suffered a hamstring injury in the Bangladesh game. In that context, India have included R Ashwin and Washington Sundar, another all-rounder who bowls off-spin, for the ODIs against Australia. Ashwin has loads of experience, having already played in a 50-over World Cup at home. Meanwhile, Sundar comes across as a utility cricketer. In a hypothetical sense, if Axar gets ruled out for the World Cup, one of them would get the nod. In all likelihood, it could be Ashwin due to his vast experience.
If either of them finds a place in the squad, then India would have a frontline off-spinner to counter the matchups against left-handers. To throw in a word of caution, there could be some dew around in October and November in certain parts of India. Also, with two white Kookaburras used, a finger spinner might not get much grip from the surfaces.
The jigsaw puzzle surrounding Sundar, Ashwin and Axar gets even more intriguing when you consider Rohit has already made it clear that they want more depth in the batting department. Among the three, Axar currently looks like the best-equipped to land the big shots lower down the order.
Australia
One of the major worries for Australia is their burgeoning absentee list, with Travis Head’s injury at the top of the pile. Head, who had been expected to open, injured his hand while facing a lifter from Gerald Coetzee in the fourth ODI in South Africa and is set to miss at least the first half of the World Cup. It is a blow to Australia’s chances as he has been among the runs in ODIs. In December last year, he even went on to compose his highest ODI score of 152, against England.
Australia would still believe they have the required reinforcements. Mitchell Marsh, who led Australia in the ODIs in South Africa, took over the mantle of opening the batting in the final game of that series, cracking a quick-fire 56-ball 71. Marsh likes pace on the ball, so playing against the new cherry could suit him.
It isn’t just Head who has been laid low by an injury as the list includes Pat Cummins, the captain (wrist), Steven Smith (wrist tendon), Mitchell Starc (groin soreness), Glenn Maxwell (ankle soreness), Ashton Agar (calf soreness), Sean Abbott (split webbing) and Cameron Green (concussion). Smith even had to take cortisone injections to recover in time for the India series.
Although most of the mainstays of the Australian set-up are expected to be fit for the World Cup, they would be hoping to get some game time before the tournament. Amid all the injury woes, Marnus Labuschagne’s impressive form in South Africa could serve as a rallying point for the Australian side.
Not picked in the original Australian World Cup squad, he grabbed his chance as a concussion substitute for Green in South Africa. Curiously, he made a comeback to the Test side on the back of being a concussion substitute for Smith at Lord’s in 2019. Since then, he hasn’t looked back in that format.
The above-mentioned points signify the importance of the India-Australia series for both teams, especially from the touring side’s point of view. More than the outcome of the series, it would be about finding the right nuts and bolts, alongside tightening a few of them, before the mega event.