IND V AUS: Five Players to watch out in the limited overs series

A month and a half ago, the Australian team was hammered in their own backyard by the Indian team, and to seek redemption, Aaron Finch-led Australian team will board a flight to India for a couple of limited-overs series starting on 24^th February at Visakhapatnam. The series against men-in-yellow will also be the last assignment for India before the forthcoming World Cup.

The series between two competitive sides promises to be a cracker. More so, as the Australians are fresh after comprehensively beating a hapless Sri Lankan side in the longest format of the game in the recently concluded home series.

The recent past makes them deadly dangerous particularly in the coloured jersey and India will need to be very wary of that. The Men in Blue may have beaten Australia, but the challenge which awaits in front of them expects to be tougher.  

With World Cup around the corner, the teams will be looking to tick every box and not keep even a single box unturned. While India has shortlisted 18 players for the most prestigious event, Australia is still waiting for Steve Smith and David Warner to be back.

For both the teams, the situation looks more as an opportunity than anything else. With this, ahead of the series, News Nation brings to you the five players to watch out for, who will be raring to blaze in the series.

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Aaron Finch

It wouldn't be wrong to say that Australian skipper Aaron Finch failed to create an impact in the ODI rubber in recent times. Finch has consistently failed to give Australians a solid start and such has been the extent of the failure at the top of the order that the hosts have had to rely on the middle-order to score runs.

Known for his hard-hitting abilities, Finch will look to keep all odds aside and start the series against India fresh. Finch has played one less than 100 ODIs and 50 T20 Internationals for Australia, and in more ways than one, his experience should itself act as a confidence booster. This remains to be seen if he can keep all odds aside and shower runs for his side.

Rishabh Pant

The 21-year-old flamboyant cricketer Rishabh Pant has been named for the upcoming series against Australia. The Chief Selector MSK Prasad stated that Rishabh Pant will likely feature in the forthcoming World Cup. Rishabh Pant first featured against Windies in the home series but couldn’t make the impact which the selectors thought.

Having just three ODI games at his back, Pant would be looking to perform well in the T20 series and be a part of the following ODI series. For him to board a flight to England.

Pat Cummins

If one has witnessed the India-Australia series Down Under, he will agree that Pat Cummins was carrying whole Australia’s expectations on his shoulders. He not only performed exceedingly well in that series but also showed his untagged leadership quality.

Competing against India in weeks’ time, Pat Cummins will look to continue his dream run. With Australia not being victorious in any of the three formats, he will probably look to help Australia in redemption.

KL Rahul

India opener KL Rahul is finally among the runs, scoring back-to-back half centuries against England Lions in the recently concluded Test series, Rahul has put forth his case just at the right time. Rahul was eventually named for limited overs series against Australia.

It is highly likely that Rohit Sharma will start on the bench for two of the five-match ODI series, and KL Rahul will be given the opportunity. In these circumstances, it will make or break situation for him of whether he deserves a World Cup spot or not.

Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson had last worn colored jersey in June 2018 against England. However, he was dropped from the squad post that, seeing his drop-in form. Post this, Kane worked regressively with the full fortitude on his line and length and has been gifted with another opportunity.

Richardson has done well in the Big Bash League (BBL) picking 24 wickets so far and is also the leading wicket-taker. He will be looking to continue his dream run against India. 

HIGHLIGHTS

• India will play two T20 and five ODI games against Australia. 
• Rishabh Pant and KL Rahul have been named in the squad. 
• Dinesh Karthik is dropped from ODI squad.