IND vs AUS: Why is Pat Cummins Not Playing Today’s India vs Australia 1st ODI? Who is Australia Captain?

The big news update from the Australian camp is that their captain Pat Cummins will not be playing the entire three-match ODI series against India after having missed the last two Test matches of the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2023. Australia will be locking horns with India in the opening ODI match on 17 March, 2023 (Friday) at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. This ODI series will act as a preparation for the visiting Australian team in this important 50-overs World Cup year.

IND vs AUS: Why is Pat Cummins Not Playing Today’s India vs Australia 1st ODI? Who is Australia Captain?

Cricket Australia (CA) have already announced that Pat Cummins will continue to remain unavailable for the remainder of the three ODI matches in India after his mother died last week due to breast cancer. He will stay with his family in Sydney for family commitments after having missed the final two Test matches against India because of the same reason. In his absence, Steve Smith has been named as the stand-in Australia captain for the three-match ODI series. This will also be the first time when Smith will captain the Australia ODI team since the ball-tampering scandal in 2018. Australia have not named any replacement in the ODI squad for Cummins but Nathan Ellis has been added in place of injured Jhye Richardson.

Australia Playing 11

1. David Warner
2. Travis Head
3. Marnus Labuschagne
4. Steve Smith (C)
5. Glenn Maxwell
6. Alex Carey
7. Marcus Stoinis
8. Cameron Green
9. Mitchell Starc
10. Adam Zampa
11. Nathan Ellis/Sean Abbott

India vs Australia 2023 Schedule