Suryakumar Yadav has been named the captain of the 16-player Indian men’s squad for the forthcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna are the only players from the 2023 World Cup squad included in this series.
Regular T20I captain and all-rounder Hardik Pandya is not part of the squad due to an ongoing recovery from the ankle injury he sustained in the World Cup.
Ruturaj Gaikwad will serve as Suryakumar Yadav’s deputy for the initial three matches, while middle-order batsman Shreyas Iyer will join the squad for the last two games, also assuming the role of vice-captain.
The series is scheduled to commence on November 23 in Visakhapatnam and conclude on December 3 in Bengaluru. The squad closely resembles the one fielded in the previous T20I series against Ireland.
Despite Sanju Samson and Shahbaz Nadeem not participating in any senior internationals since then, they were excluded. Shivam Dube retained his spot, despite a moderate performance in the domestic T20 competition, the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy.
Suryakumar Yadav entered India’s playing XI during the World Cup in place of the injured Hardik Pandya. Assigned the role of the finisher, he delivered some decent performances in the tournament.
However, in the final against Australia, he faced challenges against the opposition’s pacers on the sticky Ahmedabad wicket, managing only 18 runs.
Ishan Kishan featured in the first two matches of the competition when Shubman Gill was sidelined with dengue, scoring 47 against Afghanistan. Prasidh Krishna was brought into the squad as a replacement for Pandya but did not get a chance to play.
India’s complete squad for the T20I series against Australia
Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Jitesh Sharma (wk), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shivam Dubey, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, lRavi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.