Just four nights after that big game in Ahmedabad and India’s heartbreaking World Cup final loss, the Men in Blue will once again be up against Australia, but this time in a T20I series. BCCI on Monday night announced a 15-member squad for the five-match series which begins from November 23 onwards in Vishakhapatnam which will comprise of only three members from India’s ODI World Cup squad.
The squad picked has been largely the same that was sent to Ireland for a T20I contest in August. However, instead of Japsrit Bumrah, who has been rested along with most other World Cup squad members, Suryakumar Yadav will be leading the side with Shreyas Iyer slated to join series for the final to matches as the vice-captain. Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led the Indian team to Asian Games gold medal in October, will be serving as Suryakumar’s deputy for the first three games. Meanwhile, Ishan Kishan is the only other player from the ODI World Cup team.
Among the notable absentees from the 15-member team announced was Yuzvendra Chahal, who was earlier snubbed from the ODI World Cup squad as well with India preferring a sole leg-spinning option in Kuldeep Yadav. Chahal last played for India in the West Indies tour earlier in August.
Hours after the announcement, Chahal took to social media to share a no-word cryptic post which instantly went viral. It simply had the emoticon of a smile and nothing more.
The series will mark the beginning of India’s preparation for the T20 World Cup next year which will be played in the US in about seven months time. Hence, Chahal still has opportunities a plenty ahead with the all-important IPL 2024 season coming up as well.
The contest against Australia will begin from November 23 onwards with the first match slated to be played in Visakhapatnam before the proceedings moves to Thiruvananthapuram (November 26), Guwahati (November 28), Raipur (December 1), and Bengaluru (December 3).
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