India playing XI for first ODI: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma return; Nitish Kumar Reddy handed debut, no room for Kuldeep

India's playing XI for the first ODI against Australia: Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to international cricket after eight months.

The day is finally here. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to international cricket after eight months as India take on Australia in the first ODI of the three-match series at the Optus Stadium in Perth on Sunday. The two stalwarts of the game last played in the Champions Trophy, which India won after beating New Zealand in the final. There has been considerable speculation about whether the duo will participate in the 2027 ODI World Cup, and hence, the series will go a long way in clearing the doubts of the naysayers.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to international cricket after eight months. (AFP)

Rohit no longer has the burden of captaincy, and hence it would be interesting to see how the 38-year-old approaches his business. Both RoKo were in good touch in the Champions Trophy; however, one needs to wait and watch how they fare as they are playing international cricket after nearly eight months.

Both Rohit and Virat retired from Test cricket earlier this year, ahead of the squad announcement for the England series. The duo had also called time on their T20I career together after India won the World Cup in 2024. All eyes would also be on how Shubman Gill goes about his job as the captain and how he marshals RoKo around.

Speaking about India's playing XI for the first ODI against Australia, Nitish Kumar Reddy made his debut as he received his maiden cap from former India captain Rohit. Interestingly, last year, the all-rounder made his Test debut at the same venue and was given his maiden cap by Virat.

Who won the toss?

Mitchell Marsh had the rub of the green as he won the toss and opted to ask India to bat first under gloomy conditions in Perth.

As expected, there was no place for Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI as the visitors opted to go for batting depth. Axar Patel and Washington Sundar will be the spin options, while Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana will act as the frontline pacers.

India's playing XI: Shubman Gill (captain), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh and Mohammed Siraj.

Australia's playing XI: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh(captain), Matthew Short, Josh Philippe(w), Matt Renshaw, Cooper Connolly, Mitchell Owen, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Ellis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Josh Hazlewood.