The World Cup is not quite here yet, but it is close.
On October 8, these two teams will square off in Chennai to begin their
campaigns, but first there are three games in six days that, while helpful for
fine-tuning strategies and for several key Australian players making their
comebacks, will also present a challenge in preventing any additional
last-minute injury alarms.
With Travis Head’s damaged hand likely preventing him
from playing in the World Cup, Australia has recently suffered a significant
setback. Axar Patel’s absence from the first two games of this series has
raised some concerns for India.
India is coming off of winning the Asia Cup, where
they skittled Sri Lanka for 50 in the championship game, and Australia is
coming off of watching a 2-0 series lead get turned around by South Africa into
a 3-2 loss. There is certainly more at stake for them than for India in these
three games in terms of performances, player form, and confidence.
Australia hasn’t yet been able to field what may be
regarded as a first-choice XI in games leading up to the World Cup. Due to
Head’s injury, that lineup has been altered; nevertheless, captain Pat Cummins,
Steven Smith, and Mitchell Starc are all back, and Glenn Maxwell will be
joining them on Friday. Cummins is eager to play all three games, and Smith is
likely to as well.
The Asia Cup met many of India’s needs, and they have
taken advantage of the chance to rest some of its star players by sitting out
the first two games of this series. These players include Rohit Sharma, Virat
Kohli, Kuldeep Yadav, and Hardik Pandya. R Ashwin and Washington Sundar, who
will compete to replace Axar should he be out for more than two games, are the
subjects of most attention.
Shreyas Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav will also have a
chance to take a break during this. Iyer experienced a back spasm during the
Asia Cup, and Suryakumar only appeared once, scoring 26 runs off 34 balls in a
loss to Bangladesh.