India are all set to lock horns against Australia in a five-match T20I series at home, marking their first series since a disappointing ODI World Cup campaign. The opening match is scheduled for November 23 at the Y.S. Rajashekar Reddy ACA-VDCA International Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam. Other venues for the series include Trivandrum, Guwahati, Raipur, and Bengaluru.

Both teams have opted to rest some of their key players, providing opportunities for new faces. Senior players Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Mohammed Shami will be absent from the series. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the team, while Hardik Pandya is recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the World Cup. Suryakumar is the lone player in the squad who played in the World Cup final on November 19 against Australia at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, where they fell short by six wickets.

For the first three matches, Ruturaj Gaikwad will serve as team India’s vice-captain, with Shreyas Iyer taking over for the last two T20Is. The young Indian lineup also includes the likes of Ishan Kishan, Yashaswi Jaiswal, Rinku Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, and Arshdeep Singh.

Australia, who are coming off a hectic World Cup campaign, have rested senior players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Cameron Green, and David Warner. Wicketkeeper-batter Matthew Wade will lead the side. Interestingly, Steven Smith and Travis Head, who have taken part in the World Cup have been named in the 15-man squad.

The last encounter between the two teams in the shortest format of the game was in September 2022, with India winning the series 2-1 at home. India’s last T20 series at home was against New Zealand in February, which they won 2-1. Meanwhile, Australia recently played a T20 series in South Africa, emerging victorious in all three matches.