Shane Watson, an Australian veteran, discussed India’s unbeaten ODI streak in 2025, as well as the importance of head coach Gautam Gambhir. India will meet Australia in a three-match one-day international series, with the first game scheduled for Sunday, October 19, in Perth. Shubman Gill will lead the Indian team, succeeding Rohit Sharma, and Shreyas Iyer has been selected vice-captain.
Watson stated that India’s unbeaten ODI streak could be attributable to the impact of Gautam Gambhir as head coach. He praised the team’s gutsy style of cricket and how players are demonstrating their full potential under Gambhir’s leadership. The former Australian all-rounder believes the hosts have what it takes to disrupt India’s unbeaten streak in the next series.
“The Indian ODI team in 2025 have been unbeaten, and that comes down to two things: the incredible talent that keeps emerging from Indian cricket, and Gautam Gambhir’s leadership. GG has allowed those players to be free, without worrying about making mistakes,” said Watson on JioHotstar.
“You can see the brand of cricket they’re playing now; it’s fearless and expressive, unlocking their full potential. There’s no surprise they’ve been so dominant this year. Do I think Australia can break that unbeaten record? Yes, but they’ll have to be at their very best because India is playing incredibly well. It’s going to be a great series to watch,” he added.
In 2025, India participated in the ICC Champions Trophy and emerged victorious without losing a single match, defeating New Zealand in the final. After a gap of more than seven months, India will now return to ODI action with a three-match series against Australia.
India ODI squad:
Shubman Gill (C), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer (VC), KL Rahul (WK), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel (WK)
Australia ODI squad:
Mitchell Marsh (C), Travis Head, Xavier Bartlett, Alex Carey, Cooper Connolly, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Owen, Matthew Renshaw, Matthew Short, Mitchell Starc, Adam Zampa
India
