India, Oct. 20 -- Mumbai

Among the bunch of batters who took fresh guard as India returned to ODI cricket after seven months at Perth on Sunday was Shreyas Iyer. The Mumbai middle-order batter wasn't picked for any of the Test and T20I cricket in the interim, but slotted back to his No.4 ODI batting position against Australia.

Like Iyer, wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has also had to battle to remain a playing XI regular in Tests and T20Is, although he's got some chances, and even made the most of them.

Yet, Yadav couldn't retain his ODI place like Iyer at Perth. Instead, India went with two finger spinners - Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, not as much for their bowling, but their ability to chip in with the bat.

Kuldeep's continued ex...