Selectors to pick team for ODI and T20 series against Australia on September 30

MS Dhoni will be looking to lead the team to victory against Australia yet again

The Indian cricket team for the upcoming one-off T20 game and subsequent seven-match ODI series against Australia is expected to be announced at the end of this month.

Although the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) hasn’t come out with any official announcement as yet, highly placed sources say the much-looked forward selection committee meeting is likely to happen on September 30 in Chennai – the hometown of Board President N Srinivasan.

The Sandeep Patil-chaired Selection Committee meeting, along with four other selectors Vikram Rathore, Rajinder Hans, Saba Karim and Roger Binny, could throw up surprises as a slew of overlooked players like Yuvraj Singh (who is in rollicking form at the moment), Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan may get a look-in if they manage a decent performance in their upcoming India A matches against West Indies A.

Of course, the likes of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Zaheer Khan may find it exceedingly difficult to force a national spot in the shorter version, given the fact that the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have been consistently faring well at the top of the order in the ICC Champions Trophy, tri-series in West Indies and the five-match ODI series against minnows Zimbabwe.

If fact, it’s a happy situation for the national selectors to be in as the men in blue have hit a purple patch winning the ICC Champions Trophy, the Tri-series in West Indies as well as whitewashing Zimbabwe 5-0 in their own backyard.

The stellar run of the Indians has only cranked up competition for places in the side. If the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma have literally cemented their opening positions, there are guys like Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar besides the experienced trio of skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina who are expected to make the cut.

According to BCCI sources, the Australians are slated to arrive in Mumbai on October 5 and would kick start the tour with a T20 international against India at Rajkot on October 10.

This will be followed by the seven-match ODI series, which gets underway in Pune on October 13. The second ODI will be staged in Jaipur on October 16, while Mohali will host the third ODI on October 19.

Ranchi – hometown of Indian captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni – will host the fourth ODI on October 23, while the fifth ODI will be staged in Cuttack on October 26.

The sixth ODI will be held in Nagpur on October 30, while the final ODI will be held in Bengaluru on November 2.