Hardik Pandya reveals India's opening combination for 1st ODI vs Australia

Stand-in captain Hardik Pandya has revealed India's opening combination for the first One-Day International (ODI) against Australia.

Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan will be India's openers for the first ODI against Australia, which is due to take place on Friday at Wankhede Stadium. India will be without its regular opener and captain Rohit Sharma and in his absence, Hardik is going to lead the side.

Notably, both Kishan and Gill have been in great form with the bat, with both the batters hitting a double century each in the 50-over format in recent games.

"Ishan (Kishan) and Shubman (Gill) will be opening the innings," Hardik told reporters in a pre-match conference on Thursday.

Talking about Gill especially, the young batsman is slowly making a mark across formats for India whenever he is given an opportunity. In the last few series, Gill has centuries in all formats, including 208 and 112 against New Zealand in ODIs against New Zealand, an unbeaten 126 against the BlackCaps in a T20I, and 128 against Australia in the Ahmedabad Test.

Meanwhile, Hardik termed Wankhede's track "challenging," saying it will give opportunities for both sides.

"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 sides," added Hardik.

Team India will be without fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who recently suffered a reoccurrence of back injury leading him to undergo surgery in New Zealand. The pacer has not played any international matches for India since September 2022. In Bumrah's absence, Hardik has backed India's young bowling attack to step up in the upcoming three ODIs against Australia.

Bumrah, who had been undergoing rehabilitation for quite some time in order to correct the stress reaction in his lower back before the surgery, is aiming to recover in time for the 50-over World Cup, which is due to take place in India in October-November this year.

India vs Australia: We'll miss Bumrah but we need to find solutions, says Hardik

"Jassi hasn't been around for quite some time now. In the bowling group, we have been doing a decent job. They're all experienced now. The number of games they have played. Having Jassi makes a massive difference, but to be very honest, we aren't much bothered because the guys who have taken the role of Jassi, I am quite confident they'll be doing very well. It gives us good confidence.

"I have been in that situation where back could be a problem. We'll miss him but we have to find solutions if he isn't around. If he is, he is of course welcome. There's a lot of time to think about how we can go forward," added Hardik.

With a hectic schedule across the year and injuries piling up, a few questions about workload management were directed towards Hardik on Thursday.

"That is not my call. We have to have an amount of faith in our S&Cs (Strength and Conditioning). I am a guy who trusts his team. These calls of workload, who should play when, and who should not play that is completely On the guys who are professionals and it is their call.

"All these guys are confident if they miss out on some matches, then they miss out. It's okay. That's the confidence we have. If someone misses out because of workload management, this management has shown confidence and trust in the players. I think that's the reason players who have gone out have come back with a lot of security," said Hardik.