Australia vs India: 5 Players to watch out for in the first ODI

This series is more than three matches of a bilateral series on a calendar. It’s a clash between two deep, contrasting white-ball machines. Australia bring pace, reverse-swing and aggressive hitting while India brings experience, timing and an ODI batting depth that can suffocate opposition plans. Here are the five players who matter most and need to be looked out for in the first ODI of the series.

1. Rohit Sharma

Rohit remains the innings architect for India in 50-over cricket. He is a player who can anchor the power play and then accelerate into the late overs like he earlier used to or go bang bang from ball one as he has been doing so in the last couple of years. Either way, he has been the one to impact his own team and the opposition equally. 

As of the 2025 season, he has played 273 ODIs and scored 11,168 runs, including a career-high 264, with a strike rate near 93 and 32 ODI centuries. These are numbers that underline both volume and match-winning ceiling. He has especially liked Australia as an opposition and has scored plenty against them as well as at their home.

2. Virat Kohli

Kohli’s records in ODIs are still staggering and unbelievable. With more than 14,000 ODI runs at an average north of 57, a bank of hundreds and a rare ability to accelerate without losing composure, he turns heads wherever he plays. 

He’s the player India turns to when a chase needs pacing and pressure relief. Kohli has the footwork and placement to cope with disciplined length bowling, but his greatest value is psychological, as he forces bowlers to bowl to plans instead of bowlers dictating to him. 

3. Travis Head

Head is the kind of batter who converts momentum into match-defining overs. In 76 ODIs, he’s amassed about 2,942 runs at a strike rate well over 100, packing both timing and big-hitting power. 

Australia use Head as a conveyor belt of momentum with early aggression, boundary pressure through middle overs and the ability to turn an ordinary total into a competitive one. For India, neutralising Head’s starting rhythm either with disciplined short-of-a-length plans or well-set fields early will be crucial. If Head times his shots, Australia’s middle overs suddenly look very dangerous.

4. Mitchell Starc

Starc remains Australia’s most feared wicket-taker in the 50-over game. Across 127 ODIs, he’s taken roughly 244 wickets, often in clusters, and the sort of strike-rate that produces collapses. His length of full, with late movement, and a toe-crushing yorker at the death make him a two-phase threat. 

For India, the key is balance. Rohit and the top three must respect Starc’s fuller length but also not be overly defensive, as taking the game to him when he’s not at his yorker-perfect rhythm is the surest path to forcing Australia off their plan. With Cummins not available, Starc’s role will be further crucial.

5. Shreyas Iyer

Shreyas has become India’s go-to middle-order engine. He’s averaged in the high 40s in ODIs with about 2,845 runs from roughly 70 matches. Iyer brings an ability to rotate the strike and accelerate without losing control, exactly the skillset needed against Australia’s varied bowling. 

Iyer’s match role is twofold: to steady the innings when early wickets fall, and counter-attack in the middle overs to take pressure off the lower order. How well he times his assaults against Australia’s leg-spin and off-cutters will be a major determinant of India’s middle-overs scoring.

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