New skipper to lead India in T20I series against Australia

(ICC) - The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have named an experienced T20 performer as the captain of the team for the five-game T20I series against Australia.

Suryakumar Yadav was named as the captain of the side which will take on Australia in the five T20I home series.

Fast bowler Prasidh Krishna, who was a late entrant to the World Cup squad, is also a part of the squad.

A majority of the members of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023 have been rested after the gruelling tournament and the build-up to it. Only three players – Suryakumar, Prasidh and  Ishan Kishan – will play in the upcoming T20I series. 

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya who has led India in recent times, is still in recovery mode after his injury and didn't make the squad. The all-rounder injured himself during India’s league stage ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup encounter against Bangladesh in Pune. 

Pacer Jasprit Bumrah, who had led India in his comeback T20I series against Ireland, has been rested after a high-intensity World Cup campaign.

Suryakumar has been a prolific performer in the T20I format, having scored 1841 runs at an average of 46.02 and a strike rate of 172.7. He also has three T20I centuries to his name.

The series also marks the return of Axar Patel, who was initially named in the World Cup squad but was later ruled out due to injury.

India squad: 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.

The series runs from 23 November to 3 December.