Why Yuzvendra Chahal is not playing today in the 1st ODI between India and Australia?

Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will not be seen in action when India square off against Australia in the first ODI at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Friday, March 17.

Chahal has been dropped from the playing XI with the Men in Blue, going in with a lone specialist spinner in the form of Kuldeep Yadav and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja.

They also have four pacers in Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, and skipper Hardik Pandya.

Chahal has struggled for form in recent times. He has played only two ODIs in 2023, picking up only three wickets at an economy rate of 5.82. He was not at his best last year either, managing to scalp only 21 games in 14 games.

Kuldeep, on the other hand, has featured in six ODIs this year, picking up 11 wickets. The left-arm leg-break spinner has looked in rhythm and has bowled at good lines and lengths, varying his pace well, which has been rewarding so far.

Jadeja, on the other hand, slotted directly into the side after returning to the limited-overs setup due to a long injury haul. He has been India's go-to all-rounder across all formats and took his place ahead of Axar Patel.

Speaking of the game, Hardik Pandya won the toss and decided to field first. At the time of writing, Australia were 7/1 after three overs with Travid Head already back in the hut. Mohammed Siraj picked up the lone wicket that fell so far.

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India and Australia's Playing XIs

Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Steven Smith (c), Marnus Labuschagne, Josh Inglis (wk), Cameron Green, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Sean Abbott, Mitchell Starc, and Adam Zampa.

India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, KL Rahul (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, and Mohammed Shami.

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