Team India is ready to kick-start their preparations for the T20 World Cup next year in the United States and West Indies. Leaving behind the setback faced in the finals of the World Cup at home, Team India will aim to shift its focus on T20 cricket as much as possible, indicating a year full of T20 cricket, starting from today. India will face off against Australia in a five-game T20 series, with the first game in Vishakhapatnam. 

Test for the Young Guns

The series will see young faces in the team who eye for a spot in the World Cup team, along with the regulars. The likes of Rinku Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Tilak Varma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Jitesh Kumar, Mukesh Kumar and Avesh Khan will be a part of the series for the team, and play under the captaincy of Suryakumar Yadav for the first three games. 

Players with some exposure to International cricket such as Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, and Prasidh Krishna will also be a part of the team. While senior players such as Axar Patel, Shreyas Iyer, and Ishan Kishan will bring their experience to play against the World Cup winners Australia under Matthew Wade’s captaincy. 

Australia’s eyes for the new generation

Similarly, Australia will rest its senior players and try some new and experienced domestic players with the likes of Aaron Hardie, Nathan Ellis, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, and Jason Behrendorff. Senior and regular T20 players such as Maxwell, Zampa, Travis Head and Stoinis will also play in the series against India. 

Rishabh Pant’s Comeback

The players will get a lot of chances this year along with the international bilaterals, due to a long IPL season ahead. It is considerable that Rishabh Pant, who missed out on cricket from all formats in 2023 due to a car accident, may recover and make a comeback to the team in the coming months. 

No consideration for performers of Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy

Notably, Riyan Parag, who ended up as the highest run-scorer in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Tournament with 510 runs in 10 matches at an average of 85, did not get a call-up for the team. Similarly, Abhishek Sharma, who played for Punjab in the SMAT, was also kept away from contention. Similarly, Ravi Teja, who emerged as the leading wicket-taker, with 19 wickets in just 7 matches for Hyderabad, couldn’t catch the eye of the selectors. 

T20 World Cup Squad

It is likely that regular players of Team India, such as Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Siraj and Shami would appear in the T20 World Cup squad next year as well. It will be interesting to see if Arshdeep Singh, who took 10 wickets in six appearances during the T20 World Cup last year will make a comeback to the team.