India have named their 12-member squad for the opening T20I against Australia in Brisbane on Wednesday. Manish Pandey and Washington Sundar are the two absentees from the team that played the last game against West Indies in Chennai. Regular skipper Virat Kohli is back in the team having taken a well-deserved break during the three-game T20I series against the Windies. Rohit Sharm is the vice-captain while Pant has been named wicket-keeper ahead of Dinesh Karthik.
The squad reads: Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL rahul, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed and Yuzvendra Chahal.
BCCI took to Twitter to name the squad. “We’ve announced our 12 for the 1st T20I against Australia at The Gabba #TeamIndia.”
India are currently ranked second in ICC T20 rankings while Australia are ranked third, but despite their being one spot between the two teams there seems to quite a big difference between the two sides when it comes to on-field performances. Things don’t really good for Australia, especially considering India wiped the floor with Australia last time two teams played each other Down Under, winning series 3-0.
{{/usCountry}}India are currently ranked second in ICC T20 rankings while Australia are ranked third, but despite their being one spot between the two teams there seems to quite a big difference between the two sides when it comes to on-field performances. Things don’t really good for Australia, especially considering India wiped the floor with Australia last time two teams played each other Down Under, winning series 3-0.
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Australian cricket, in contrast, has been dogged by structural reform in the wake of the ball-tampering saga in South Africa in March and it has resulted in turbulence on the field as well. Only on Tuesday, Cricket Australia ruled out reducing the bans of Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft in reply to a plea submission from the Australian Cricketers’ Association (ACA).
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South African skipper Faf du Plessis has professed a “silent treatment” to Kohli and it remains to be seen if the Australian cricketers and the public can ignore him at all. Kohli’s return to the side means that one front-line batsman will have to make way.