The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 15-member Indian squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, which will commence on 23 November. With Hardik Pandya nursing an injury, Suryakumar Yadav has been chosen to lead the team.
Only three days after losing the 2023 ICC World Cup final to Australia, India will be up against the same opponent, with the two teams now squaring off in the T20I format. The senior players have been rested for this series, with the squad which featured in the T20I series against Ireland earlier this year being recalled into action.
India, however, will be missing the services of Hardik Pandya, who is currently recuperating from an ankle injury that he suffered in the World Cup match against Bangladesh last month.
In his absence, Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the team. The 33-year-old might not have had a memorable World Cup campaign, having scored only 106 runs in seven appearances, but he remains the number-one ranked T20I batter in international cricket.
Deputising him on this tour will be fellow batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led India to an Asian Games gold medal earlier this year. Barring Yadav, Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna are the two other members from the World Cup squad who will be featuring in this series.
Axar Patel Returns After Injury Layoff
Notably, all-rounder Axar Patel has been named in the squad, having recovered from a quadriceps strain that he sustained during the 2023 Asia Cup. Owing to his injury, Patel could not be a part of India's World Cup entourage.
Shreyas Iyer To Rejoin Later
A fourth player from the World Cup squad in Shreyas Iyer has also been picked, but only for the last couple of matches. Once he joins the team, he will take over vice-captaincy responsibilities from Ruturaj Gaikwad.
India’s Squad For T20I Series vs Australia: Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
All About the Series
The series will commence in Visakhapatnam, where the two teams will be competing in the first T20I on 23 November. The action will then move to Thiruvananthapuram, Guwahati, Raipur and Bengaluru, with matches being scheduled on 26 November, 28 November, 1 December and 3 December respectively.
India vs Australia T20I Series Schedule:
1st T20I – Visakhapatnam, 23 November
2nd T20I – Thiruvananthapuram, 26 November
3rd T20I – Guwahati, 28 November
4th T20I – Raipur, 1 December
5th T20I – Bengaluru, 3 December
Meanwhile, former India batter and National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief V.V.S Laxman is likely to be announced as coach of the team as chief coach Rahul Dravid, whose tenure is set to be over after the World Cup, has decided to take leave after three months.
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