Zampa, Inglis to miss Australia's first ODI against India; Kuhnemann, Philippe drafted in as replacements

Zampa will miss the highly anticipated fixture due to paternity reasons. Meanwhile, Inglis is recovering from a calf strain, and Philippe will step into the breach with the gloves. Australia's first-choice wicketkeeper in the Test and One-Day formats, Alex Carey, was another contender to keep the wickets. However, he is featuring in a Sheffield Shield match as part of his preparations for the Ashes, scheduled to kick off next month, which has kept him out of the series opener.

Inglis will also miss the second ODI, scheduled for next week in Adelaide, which will see Carey's return to the 50-over setup. But Cricket Australia remain hopeful about Inglis recovering in time for the final fixture of the series in Sydney on October 25. The calf strain kept him out of Australia's tour of New Zealand in September. He sustained the injury during a running session in Perth.

Philippe has yet to play an ODI since the 2021 three-match tour of the Caribbean. He was drafted as a specialist opening batter under Carey's captaincy. In the last two years, Philippe hasn't represented Australia in any format. Still, he has excelled for Australia A in red-ball cricket and boasts a promising domestic one-day record for New South Wales and Western Australia.

Zampa's wife, Harriet, is in the later stages of pregnancy with their second child, and her due date is approaching. Zampa has opted to stay at home in northern New South Wales. He is likely to return for the second and third ODIs. Kuhnemann has been called up and seems poised to play his first ODI for Australia in three years.

If included in the final XI, it will be Kuhnemann's first appearance in an ODI on home soil, after featuring in four matches in Sri Lanka in 2022. He has travelled non-stop with the Australian team throughout the winter.

He was a part of Australia's squads for the World Test Championship final, the three-match Test tour and five-match T20I tour of the Caribbean, the three-match T20I and three-match ODI home series against South Africa, and the three-match T20I tour of New Zealand.

However, across those tours, he earned a sole appearance in the second T20I against the West Indies in Jamaica back in July. Since then, he has contested just three 50-over matches for Tasmania, scalping figures of 1/34, 1/74, and 2/51 in three wins. He also chipped in with a valuable 56* against New South Wales in the first game of the new domestic season.

Australia's ODI squad for India series: Mitchell Marsh (capt), Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey (wk), Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (wk), Matt Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa. (ANI)