The Indian squad for the five-match One Day International series against Australia, which starts in Perth on January 12, is a breath of fresh air. Often accused of playing safe, the selectors have made a gamut of changes while picking the side. Instead of the tried and tested Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu and Stuart Binny, a host of new and exciting talent will be on display.

Among other things, it will be interesting to see how captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni manages his youngsters. As skipper, Dhoni has sometimes shown a tendency of being unwilling to experiment, preferring to stick with a chosen few instead. However, he will not have that luxury against Australia as he will have no other choice but to look beyond his familiar means and make use of the fresh talent available to him.

The captain will be pleased at one aspect though. He has often bemoaned the lack of quality all-rounders in India, comparing it unfavourably to other cricketing nations. Now, with a squad full of players adept with both bat and ball, his wish has finally been granted.

So, who are these new talents and can they shape up for the big stage?

Barinder Sran

A former boxer from the same club as Olympic medallist Vijender Singh, 23-year old Barinder Sran is a left-arm fast bowler – a breed that is becoming increasingly rare in Indian cricket. With only 11 first-class matches and eight domestic games under his belt, he is very raw and also supposedly very fast. His pace during a domestic Ranji Trophy game prompted fellow Punjab teammate Yuvraj Singh to tweet about him, comparing him to a young Zaheer Khan. That constitutes high praise and if Sran can manage to avoid the kind of injuries that plagued Khan during his career, he could be a real find for India.

Gurkeerat Singh Mann

A big-hitting lower order batsman, a handy off-spinner, and even an occasional wicket-keeper, Gurkeerat Singh Mann is just the sort of utility player that a captain loves. Mann has been floating around the Indian squad in recent months but hasn’t been able to break into the playing eleven. Hopefully that will change in Australia as the 25-year old is the sort of multi-faceted player who excels in limited-overs cricket. For quite a while now, the Indian team has missed a batsman who can hit the big shots from ball one. Mann’s recent domestic form suggests he could plug that gap.

Rishi Dhawan

Rishi Dhawan is the other all-rounder in the squad and it will be a toss-up between him and Mann for the all-rounder's spot in the first team. What might give Dhawan the edge though is that he is a fast bowler, a factor that might prove useful on Australian pitches. Dhawan was in top form with both bat and ball in the recent domestic Vijay Hazare Trophy. Finishing with a batting average of over 100 at a very impressive strike rate, his nine wickets also helped him earn a call-up to the national team.

Manish Pandey

The world stood up and took notice of Manish Pandey after he scored a scintillating unbeaten 114 for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2009 edition of the Indian Premier League, making him the first Indian to score a century in the tournament. He fell off the graph for a bit but fought his way back into the reckoning, becoming one of Karnataka’s mainstays. Pandey has already made his international debut, but that was against low-ranked Zimbabwe in a second-string Indian line-up. The real test comes now, but as anyone who has seen his wristy, stylish batting will agree, he definitely has the potential.