Following the 4-1 thrashing of the world champions, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad on Sunday for upcoming three-match T20I series against Australia.
Stylish left-hander Shikhar Dhawan who opted out of the recently-concluded ODI series against the same opposition to look after his ailing wife has made a return to the Indian team. Wicket-keeper batsman - Dinesh Karthik and veteran pace Ashish Nehra have also found a place in the squad. The left-arm pacer Nehra last played the shorter format in India outfit against England in February. Whereas, Karthik last played for India in the ODI series against West Indies in July.
Ajinkya Rahane who slammed four consecutive fifties in the recently-concluded ODI series versus Kangaroos has failed to find a spot in the team. The 29-year old hasn't been part of the line-up in the shortest format of the game for a while now as he didn't feature in the one-off T20I against Sri Lanka last month as well.
India are scheduled to play three T20Is against Australia, starting from October 7 in Ranchi. Virat Kohli's men are the number one side in the world in Tests and ODIs and will see the upcoming series against Australia as a chance to improve their T20Is rankings as well. India are currently at the fifth spot on the table.
Squad:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel
