India's Probable 16-man squad for the upcoming ODI series against Australia 

With the ICC 50-over World cup scheduled to take place next year from May 30th to July 14th in England, India will be looking to tighten up all the prevailing loose ends of the team before the mega tournament commences.

In 2019 team India is set to play a 3-match ODI series in Australia which will be followed by a 5-match ODI series in NewZealand. India will then host Australia for a 5-match ODI series in Feb-Mar which will be it's final ODI assignment before World Cup.

The schedule for upcoming 3-match ODI series against Australia is as follows -

1st ODI - Jan 12(Saturday) | Venue - Sydney Cricket Ground | Sydney Start time - 7:50 AM(IST)

2nd ODI - Jan 15(Tuesday) | Venue - Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Start time - 8:50 AM(IST)

3rd ODI - Jan 18(Friday) | Venue - Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne | Start time - 7:50 AM(IST)

Currently, India has a settled top order and all-round bowling combination but they have been struggling to get their middle order combination right. Virat Kohli and co will be anticipating that they will be able to find the right middle order combination during the course of the upcoming series.

Here is the 16-man probable squad for the 3-match ODI series against Australia next month -

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#1 Openers -

Rohit Sharma(VC), Shikhar Dhawan, and KL Rahul

Rohit Sharma after scoring a hundred

Team India arguably has the best ODI opening combination in the world right now which comprises of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan. They have been highly consistent and forged numerous match-winning partnerships at the top of the order ever since the duo first joined forces during the 2013 Champions Trophy.

Both Rohit(2nd) and Dhawan(9th) are in the top ten of ICC ODI batsmen Rankings. Along with Virat Kohli, they form the fulcrum of India's batting order. The persistent contributions from the top 3 batsmen of Indian line-up have allowed India to dominate in the ODI format over the last few years.

KL Rahul was the designated backup opener during the last ODI series and he is expected to continue in the same role during the upcoming series as well. He did not get ample chances to prove his mettle in ODI format yet so it would be unfair to drop from the side due to his recent shortcomings in Test format.

#2 Middle Order -

Dhoni is expected to travel to Australia for the ODI series

Virat Kohli(C), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, and Dinesh Karthik

Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni will be certain starters in the middle order during the upcoming ODI series against Aussies. Virat Kohli will bank on seasoned campaigner, Ambati Rayudu to provide some much-needed stability to Indian middle order and cement the arduous number 4 position before the World Cup commences.

Kedar Jadhav's big hitting skills along with his uncanny but invaluable part-time bowling ability makes him an indispensable part of the team if he's fit.

Dinesh Karthik's current form and recent demonstration of his lethal finishing skills might entice the selectors to pick him ahead of the likes of Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant, with the World Cup in their mind.

MS Dhoni's finishing skills have been waning steadily over the last few years so having a veteran like Dinesh Karthik as a backup option would be ideal for the team during a crucial tournament like World Cup.

#3 All-rounders -

Jadeja will provide another option for Virat Kohli

Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja

Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will fulfill the role of allrounders during the tour along with "part-timer" Kedar Jadhav. Hardik Pandya will be playing in his first ODI series after he was ruled out during Asia Cup 2018 due to injury, so he will be looking to get back into the groove soon and have an impressive showing during Australia series.

Ravindra Jadeja made a decent comeback into the ODI side and had some impressive outings during the last ODI series India played against West Indies at home. He will in all likelihood hold onto his place as the backup all-rounder.

#4 Bowlers -

Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed, and Umesh Yadav

Bowling line-up is more or less settled for team India as Bhuvi, Bumrah, Kuldeep, and Chahal have tormented most of the opposition batsmen over the last one year. All four of them are certain to be selected for the upcoming World Cup unless there is an unfortunate fitness issue.

Ideal Starting XI -

Rohit Sharma(VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(C), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.