Even amid the emotional theme of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma's return to India fold, Shubman Gill's maiden outing as full-time ODI skipper provides an equally compelling narrative to the first one-dayer against Australia in Perth on Sunday.
Kohli and Rohit are returning to the national team fold after playing the Champions Trophy in March, and the dynamics of Indian cricket have changed irrevocably in these seven months.
The cricketing ecosystem has learned to survive the prolonged absence of Kohli and Rohit -- at least in two formats -- in this interim period.
So, what do these two veteran batters now have to offer to the side?
Before delving into that question, let's be clear: Kohli and Rohit will be counted among the greatest one-day batters across the eras and by any yardstick.
They have also been training hard for this series. Rohit seemed to have shed a few kilos and moulded himself into a chiselled figure, and Kohli was sweating it out in London, his new base, with a private trainer.
But the challenge for these two giants is to shake off the accumulated rust post the IPL, their last competitive outing.
It might just be a blessing for them that their return coincides with a series against Australia, a team that had cathartic influence during the course of their long careers.
In that context, the three-match ODI series can be considered a barometer of their individual drive and willingness to travel still farther in their working lives as one-format players.
But unlike Kohli, Rohit needs to come to terms with his new role of being just a senior player.
Rohit's previous T20I and ODI outings ended with celebration after guiding the team to ICC trophies, and he was leading the side even in his last Test appearance in Melbourne.
If Kohli can produce those brilliantly calibrated knocks and Rohit his incandescent shot-making up the order, then these two stalwarts can hope to hang on for long.
It will be fascinating to watch an old rivalry coming to life again as Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood will try to keep the Ro-Ko duo quiet once more.
The celebrated cricketers will clearly be knowing that they no longer have the immunity of leadership role or luxury of time, as the current selectors and team management have no deep remorse in taking some harsh calls with future in mind, particularly the 2027 ODI World Cup.
Chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar hinted as much.
"Look they (Rohit and Kohli) are part of the squad at the moment for Australia. They are not on trial. Once they start playing, then you assess.
"But we have some ideas, and we'll probably have a better idea of where the team is progressing," said Agarkar during the NDTV World Summit.
GILL'S BURDEN
Gill is expected to shape Indian cricket's future, but he will always have the shadows of Kohli and Rohit looming behind him.
The 26-year-old has already shown that he is capable of standing up to the legacy of Kohli as a batter during the away series against England.
Now, Gill will have to match the standard set by Rohit as white ball formats skipper, justly reflected in India's 75 per cent win ratio under him, highest in the country's ODI history.
Gill will be judged against the achievements of Rohit in the limited-overs, and the Mitchell Marsh-led Australia offers him a daunting first stop despite the absence of premier pacer Pat Cummins.
If he can ace this test, it will do a world of good for his confidence as a leader, which will in turn mirror his already fast developing batting.
TEAM COMBINATION
It's unlikely that the management will break the highly successful opening combination of Rohit and Gill, keeping Yashasvi Jaiswal as a backup option.
It means Kohli will come at No. 3 followed by Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul, who will double up as the wicketkeeper.
Nitish Kumar Reddy is likely to receive his maiden ODI cap in the all-rounder's role since injured Hardik Pandya is not part of the side, and Harshit Rana will vie with Prasidh Krishna for the support seamer's role behind Mohammad Siraj and Arshdeep Singh.
Axar Patel and Kuldeep Yadav could be manning the spin department.
On the other hand, the Aussies will hope that the likes of Cooper Connolly, Marnus Labuschagne, Matthew Renshaw etc can give ample support to Marsh and India's eternal nemesis Travis Head.
Teams (from):
India: Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Axar Patel, KL Rahul (wk), Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal.
Australia: Mitchell Marsh (c), Xavier Bartlett, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Matthew Kuhnemann, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc.
Match starts at 9am IST.
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