India captain Rohit Sharma was absent from the squad for the first One-Day International between India and Australia in Mumbai on Friday.
In his absence, Hardik Pandya is set to lead the side for the first time in an ODI.
Rohit has taken a leave from the team to attend his brother-in-law’s marriage ceremony. The BCCI, when announcing the squad, had confirmed that the Indian captain will not play the first match due to family commitments.
He will return for the second and third matches of the series which will be played in Visakhapatnam and Chennai, respectively.
The last time Rohit missed an ODI for India was in December 2022 during India’s tour to Bangladesh. An injury had ruled him out of the third ODI.
Rohit also missed the ODIs during India’s tour to New Zealand earlier in 2022 when he had been rested. The series was held right after the T20 World Cup in Australia.
