The Indian cricket team begins its audition for the upcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in West Indies and the United States of America (USA) with a 5 match T20I series vs the recently crowned 50-overs World Champions Australia on the 23rd of November.
The Indian cricket team is presently supposed to play only 3 T20I series (vs Australia, South Africa and Afghanistan) and the IPL before the T20 World Cup 2024. The selectors have announced a hugely rotated squad for the series as the players who participated regularly in the ODI World Cup 2023 have been rested. Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the team in absence of Rohit Sharma.
While it is expected that Rohit Sharma is completely out of the scheme of thing for T20Is, the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Ravindra Jadeja will be in the squad for the World Cup 2024. However, there is still some places up for grab and the players would be looking to capitalise on the same vs Australia. Let’s take a look at how India could lineup against Australia.
The predicted India Playing XI against Australia resembles the Asian Games gold medal-winning team, featuring the return of Suryakumar Yadav and Axar Patel recovering from injury. The spotlight will be on Ruturaj Gaikwad (who led the team in the Asian games), Yashasvi Jaiswal, and Ishan Kishan competing for a spot in the T20 World Cup.
The batting order is likely to open with Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal, with Ishan Kishan contending for the No. 3 spot. Suryakumar Yadav is likely to play at No. 4, adjustments may occur to maintain a left-right combination. Tilak Varma, known for his off-spin and big hitting, holds the No. 5 role until Shreyas Iyer’s return.
In the quest for a finisher at No. 6 in Hardik Pandya’s absence, Rinku Singh emerges as an exciting choice, displaying prowess in IPL and domestic cricket. Axar Patel will be the left-arm orthodox bowler and will be accompanied by Ravi Bishnoi.
In the absence of Hardik Pandya, India is likely to opt for three pacer, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, and either of Mukesh Kumar or Avesh Khan.
The India vs Australia 1st T20I match will be played at the Dr. Y.S Rajasekhara Reddy Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam from 7 P.M Indian Standard Time (IST) on the 23rd of November.
India Playing XI First T20I vs Australia
Ruturaj Gaikwad
Yashasvi Jaiswal
Ishan Kishan
Suryakumar Yadav
Tilak Varma
Rinku Singh
Axar Patel
Ravi Bishnoi
Arshdeep Singh
Prasidh Krishna
Avesh Khan/ Mukesh Kumar
