The key players in the India vs Australia 2025 series
The key players in the India vs Australia 2025 series are very important for the high-voltage ODI and T20I contests. India vs Australia 2025 squad analysis is very important for this high-standard series. Australia will host the high-quality Indian players, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. The star Australian seamer, Pat Cummins, will miss this series due to injuries. Shubman Gill ends Rohit Sharma’s captaincy and will lead the Indian side in the ODIs in this series. Mitchell Marsh will lead Australia in the ODIs during this important series. This tour will comprise three ODIs and five T20Is, and this will boost the preparation of both teams.
India vs Australia 2025 key players are always important decisions for both cricket-playing nations. The competition is very high for both teams in white-ball cricket. It is very hard for the Aussies to play without their regular ODI captain Pat Cummins. Xavier Bartlett and Nathan Ellis are the other options for the Aussies in the absence of skipper Cummins. They will support the bowling unit while accompanying Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc.
Does Pat Cummins’ absence matter or not?
Is it hard for Australia to tackle star batters Rohit and Virat in the absence of Cummins or not? This will be clear from analyzing the performance of Cummins against these two star batters. Pat Cummins’ performance against India is always satisfactory. He has played 21 ODIs against India and taken 28 wickets, but he is ineffective against Virat and Rohit. The stats of these batters against Pat Cummins will give us a better view to understand.
| Player | Balls Faced | Runs scored | Outs | Strike Rate | Average |
| Virat Kohli | 175 | 174 | 2 | 99.4 | 87 |
| Rohit Sharma | 232 | 178 | 2 | 76.6 | 89 |
This record can give us a better understanding of the behavior of these batters against Cummins. Rohit usually smashes boundaries against bowlers, but he plays careful cricket against the skipper. His strike rate is really low against the skipper. Similarly, Virat Kohli always tries to play sensible cricket against him by not giving wickets. Both batters know that retaining wickets against the star bowler is the key to building pressure. The absence of Pat Cummins is not good for both the batters because he has failed to pick up wickets.
India’s Captaincy Change
India changes its captain in the ODIs, while Rohit Sharma is still performing well as a captain. It is a good time for India to give the ODI captaincy to Shubman Gill to prepare for a better future. This is not due to the form of Rohit because he performed with an average of over 50. Also has a winning percentage of 75, proving him a great captain. Indian selectors are not going to wait for the low performance of Rohit. They are preparing a captain for longer terms, leaving behind the legacy of Rohit Sharma.
Also Read: India announced squads for the series 2025 against Australia
Basically, Indian selectors are following the Aussies’ golden era rules for the captaincy change. Steve Waugh was a great captain and was performing well enough, but then Ricky Ponting was given the responsibility. This was not because Waugh was not doing well; this was because the Aussies were making strategies ahead. In the same fashion, they repeated the same thing after a few years. They rotated the captaincy from Ponting to Michael Clarke and Clarke to Steve Smith. Indians are following the same trick by making decisions for the future, like for the ICC ODI World Cup 2027.
Shreyas Iyer Comeback
The star Indian batter, Shreyas Iyer, makes a great comeback to the Indian squad for the India vs Australia 2025 series. He is among the India-Australia ODI key players for this competitive series in Australia. The star batter is selected as the vice-captain for the India vs Australia 2025 tour.
The rising batter gets his form back through well-disciplined and focused performances in home tournaments. Shreyas Iyer has a major role in India’s Champion Trophy 2025 win; he was the second-highest run-scorer in the tournament. He has scored 2845 ODI runs in 70 games with an average of 48.22, which justifies his selection. His performance in ODIs in 2025 is also satisfactory; he has gathered 424 runs in eight games.
Shubman Gill vs Mitchell Marsh 2025
Both nations have young players in terms of captaincy, especially Shubman Gill, who has no previous ODI captaincy. However, the all-rounder, Mitchell Marsh, has a good record as an ODI captain. Mitchell Marsh has led Australia in 12 ODIs as a captain, and he lost the previous ODI series against Proteas. This makes him superior to Shubman Gill in captaincy experience. But India has experienced ex-captains Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to support and guide young S Gill. India is preparing Shubman Gill for the next captain to manage the workload in response to the aging Rohit.
Axar Patel’s inclusion in ODIs
Axar Patel is selected in ODIs for the India vs Australia 2025 series over experienced Ravindra Jadeja. Indian selectors want a more aggressive all-rounder who can bat at 6 or 7 and also balance the spin bowling. Axar fits the aggressive approach of India, and his stats make him superior to Jadeja. The following are the stats of both players against spin.
| Player | Innings | Runs | Strike Rate | Average |
| Axar Patel | 29 | 438 | 95.2 | 33.7 |
| Ravidra Jadeja | 95 | 912 | 71.7 | 43.4 |
The strike rate of Axar Patel justifies his ability to rotate the strike rate better than Jadeja.
Also Read: Abhishek Sharma creates history in the Asia Cup 2025
Mitchell Starc Comeback
Mitchell Starc will join Australia’s ODI squad for the India vs Australia ODIs 2025 and is one of the key players. He is one of the experienced bowlers in the Aussie squad and will challenge the Indian batters. The star bowler has taken 244 wickets in the ODIs so far and has wicket-taking ability. He will balance Australia’s bowling unit for pace-supporting pitches.