Suryakumar Yadav, the dynamic Indian batsman, is set to captain the national team in the upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, starting on November 23 in Visakhapatnam. The coaching responsibilities for the series will be shouldered by former Indian cricketer VVS Laxman, who has been appointed as the head coach. The T20I series is scheduled to conclude in Bangalore on December 3, and the squad largely mirrors the one that featured in the Ireland series. Notably, Jasprit Bumrah, who captained the team in the previous series, has been given a well-deserved rest.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson dropped from India T20I Squad for India vs Australia T20I series

Following the conclusion of the 2023 ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, India is gearing up for their first cricketing challenge against Australia. The squad, led by Rohit Sharma, exhibited an impressive performance throughout the tournament but faced disappointment in the final against the same opponents at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19. Unfortunately, they fell short of clinching the prestigious title for the third time.

Suryakumar Yadav, the top-ranked T20I batter globally, will be at the helm for this upcoming series against Australia. His leadership skills draw from captaining both the Mumbai team in domestic cricket and the India Under-23 team in the Emerging Cup a few years ago. Notably, Suryakumar has previously served as the vice-captain of the Indian team during the West Indies tour. 

Prasidh Krishna, who was part of the World Cup squad, has earned a spot in the upcoming series. However, Hardik Pandya, recovering from an ankle injury sustained during the marquee event, will not feature as additional recovery time is deemed necessary.

During the selectors' meeting in Ahmedabad, initial discussions centered around considering Shreyas Iyer for the captaincy. However, a change in plans ensued, with concerns raised about the workload shouldered by the middle-order batter in recent months, starting from the Asia Cup. Despite this, Iyer will contribute to the team's leadership as the vice-captain in the last two games in Raipur and Bengaluru.

The inclusion of VVS Laxman as coach is seen as a strategic move to manage the workload of India's head coach, Rahul Dravid, following three intense months of commitment. It is worth noting that Dravid's official tenure concluded with the World Cup, and he is yet to disclose his future plans, having dedicated his focus entirely to the World Cup campaign.

India Squad for IND vs AUS T20I Series

Suryakumar Yadav (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dubey, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.