India's predicted playing XI for the 1st T20I vs Australia
Team India will look to put their 2023 World Cup disappointment behind them when they face off against Australia in the first T20I of the five-match series in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, November 23.
Suryakumar Yadav will captain the side, which features several players who are yet to establish themselves as fixtures in the shortest-format side. With the next edition of the T20 World Cup on the horizon, the Men in Blue will want to take steps towards finalizing their ideal combination, even if they are without plenty of theifirst-choice names.
India’s squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar, Shreyas Iyer (for last two T20Is).
Here is India's predicted playing XI for the first T20I against Australia.
Openers: Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal
Ruturaj Gaikwad, as the vice-captain of the side, should open the batting in the T20I series against Australia. His partner, however, is yet to be ascertained, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Ishan Kishan in the mix.
Kishan's T20I record in 2023 makes for terrible reading. Having failed to make an impression at the top of the order, he could be moved lower to accommodate Jaiswal, who shone at the Asian Games.
Middle Order: Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (c), Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh
Jitesh Sharma is the other wicket-keeping option at India's disposal, and he is more suited to a role at No. 5. If Jitesh is picked, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma can bat at their ideal positions in the top four.
However, Jitesh being handed another T20I cap might not be on India's agenda since they clearly have a lot of faith in Kishan. They wouldn't have picked the Jharkhand keeper-batter in the squad, that too just after the World Cup, if they intended on keeping him on the bench.
Kishan could thus slot in at No. 3, with Suryakumar and Tilak following him. The latter will be asked of a lot at No. 5, but he has the ability to succeed in the challenging role.
Rinku Singh, meanwhile, could bat No. 6 and be asked to don the finisher's hat. That would mean that Shivam Dube, who recently made his international comeback after a hiatus, would have to settle for a spot on the bench for now.
All-rounders: Axar Patel
Having made a comeback to the Indian side after missing out on the World Cup with a late injury, Axar Patel is bound to feature in the XI. While the southpaw is ideally used higher in the order, he might have to settle for batting with the tail once again.
Washington Sundar is in contention to feature alongside Axar, but without any pace-bowling all-rounders in the side, India are unlikely to go in without the assurance of three fast bowlers and a wrist-spinner. Speaking of which...
Bowlers: Ravi Bishnoi, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna
![Prasidh Krishna [right] will lead the Indian pace attack in the T20Is](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/11/73ad4-17005110088418-1920.jpg)
This is perhaps the most straightforward selection decision the Men in Blue will have to make.
Mukesh Kumar has been backed to the hilt by the team management and certainly stands a chance of featuring against Australia. But he should be behind Prasidh Krishna, Arshdeep Singh and Avesh Khan in the pecking order, when you consider everything that these pacers offer.
Ravi Bishnoi is on a quest to become India's lead wrist-spinner in the T20I format and could seriously challenge Kuldeep Yadav with a few promising performances against Australia. He could be replaced by Sundar, but the hosts will ideally want a wrist-spinner even if that means sacrificing a bit of batting depth.