India vs Australia 2019: India announce squad for T20I series

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The BCCI has announced a 15-man squad for the two-match T20I series against Australia starting later this month. Uncapped Mayank Markande has been given his maiden national call-up.

Virat Kohli will lead the team, while Rohit Sharma will don the vice-captaincy armband. MS Dhoni has been named the designated wicket-keeper that also has Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik as the backup keepers.

The two-match series will begin on February 24th with the first game in Visakhapatnam, while the second and final game will be held in Bengaluru on February 27th.

The selectors have gone with two leg-spinners, with Krunal Pandya being a left-arm option. Kuldeep Yadav is not part of the 15-man squad.

KL Rahul returns to the T20 setup, having last played in the T20I series against Australia late last year. Dinesh Karthik, who did not find a place in the ODI squad, is part of the T20Is.

In the pace bowling department, Umesh Yadav is part of the named 15, along with Siddarth Kaul and Jasprit Bumrah, who returns after being left out for the previous limited-overs fixtures. Both Mohammed Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are not part of the setup.

Pacer Khaleel Ahmed has also been left out of the squad. In the three-T20I series against New Zealand, Khaleel gave away 122 runs combined, and couldn't keep the run-flow in check. Kaul's last T20I was against England in July 2018.

Markande, just hours before his call-up, spun the India-A team to the victory with a fifer against the England Lions in the unofficial Test at Mysore. The 21-year-old Markande is part of the Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

India's squad for the T20I series: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Siddarth Kaul, Mayank Markande

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