VISAKHAPATNAM: November 19 marked the conclusion of ICC World Cup 2023 in which Australia came on top of hosts India to clinch their sixth World Cup crown. Now just four days later, Suryakumar Yadav will have to keep the disappointment of a World Cup final defeat deep aside while guiding an enthusiastic team of youngsters against a powerful Australian team in a five-match T20I series that begins on Thursday.
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The first match will take place in Visakhapatnam. The squad is made up of players who bagged the gold medal at the Asian Games and the captain from the tournament. Shreyas Iyer will join the squad as vice-captain for the last two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru. For the first three T20Is, Ruturaj Gaikwad will be the deputy of Suryakumar.
Young guns like Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Tilak Verma and Jitesh Sharma have all made their international debuts in recent months, but their first real Test will be against a very strong Australian T20 side which will be headed by Matthew Wade and includes World Cup heroes like opener Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, leg-spinner Adam Zampa, and former captain Steve Smith.
The T20I series marks the final part of Australia’s lengthy tour of India and it leaves the visitors with little time to celebrate their sixth ODI world title. For the Indians, however, the series offers an opportunity to put aside the disappointment of yet another ICC title defeat and focus on the road forward.
India’s top order will almost certainly have Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal as openers, with Kishan set to take over at No. 3. Depending on the lineup, the middle order might include either Rinku Singh or Tilak Varma alongside skipper Surya, with Jitesh Sharma coming in as the wicketkeeper-batter.
On the other hand, Australia have chosen to keep the majority of the players who were part of their winning World Cup campaign, which had started on a shaky note with back-to-back defeats.
The attention will be on Travis Head, who blasted a stunning 137 off 120 deliveries against the Men in Blue, rescuing his side from danger and breaking a billion hearts as Australia clinched the World Cup crown.
India Squad: Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Mukesh Kumar, Washington Sundar, Avesh Khan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Jitesh Sharma.
Australia Squad: Travis Head, Matthew Short, Steven Smith, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Tim David, Matthew Wade(w/c), Sean Abbott, Adam Zampa, Nathan Ellis, Jason Behrendorff, Tanveer Sangha, Kane Richardson and Aaron Hardie. (ANI)