Ind vs Aus: Hardik Pandya was tipped to be named captain for the Australia series. The India all-rounder, who was ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 midway due to a ligament tear.
Mumbai: Just after the ODI World Cup is over, there is no respite for the cricketers from India as they would host Australia in a five-match T20I series. The opening T20I will be played on November 23 in Vizag, while the final game would be played on December 3 in Chinnaswamy. The feeling is that the seniors would get rest after the grueling WC season. If that is the case, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma may not feature. There are also reports that Ruturaj Gaikwad would be leading the side in Hardik Pandya’s absence.
Hardik Pandya was tipped to be named captain for the Australia series. The India all-rounder, who was ruled out of the ODI World Cup 2023 midway due to a ligament tear, is reportedly being advised to rest for six to eight weeks, thus ruling him out of the Australia series as well.
In that case, Ruturaj remains the best possible option for India’s captaincy. Veteran Shikhar Dhawan is another leadership candidate but the BCCI seems to have made the Indian opener unavailable from their scheme of things.
Like in the Asian Games, National Cricket Academy (NCA) chief VVS Laxman is likely to travel with the Indian team as head coach as senior team head coach Rahul Dravid, along with other backroom staff are also likely to get a break.
With most of the senior players out, the squad will look similar to the one that went to China for the Asian Games. It is to be noted that Dravid’s contract as India’s head coach ends after the World Cup and he will be back for the South Africa tour if the former India captain agrees to a contract extension.
India Predicted Squad: Yashaswi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Rinku Singh, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, KL Rahul, Ishan Kishan, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh