The Indian team will step on the field on Friday without the services of Rohit Sharma due to his family commitments. Hardik Pandya will be leading the side since Rohit is absent. Star allrounder confirmed the opening pair of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, who will be seen starting the proceedings. Both the players smashed a double century in the fifty-over format.

“Ishan (Kishan) and Shubman (Gill) will be opening the innings,” said Hardik Pandya at the press conference.

“The wicket looks how it does throughout the year. I have been playing here for almost seven years. It is going to be challenging because this wicket will give equal opportunities to both the sides,” Pandya said.

For Australia, —regular captain Pat Cummins will not be playing in the ODI series against India as he is in Australia because of his mother’s demise. It will be Steve Smith, who will be leading the side in Cummins’ absence.

Earlier, India sealed the Border-Gavaskar Trophy by 2-1 against Australia. The Men in Blue will be hoping to keep their momentum going in the fifty-over format too.

“It was a fantastic series. Right from the word go, how exciting it was. A lot of the players are playing this for the first time. We do understand the importance of this series and the opposition. A lot of hard work has gone into this. At different times we have come up with answers. We knew how important it was to start the series. The Delhi Test, I am very proud of. We were behind in the game. At Indore, we were put under pressure and lost the game. Different players put their hands up. A lot of guys took up the responsibility and bailed us out,” said Rohit in a post-match presentation.

India vs Australia ODI series will be taking place on March 17 at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium.