Not included in India’s World Cup squad, Yuzvendra Chahal once again found himself excluded from the team’s upcoming five-match T20I series against Australia. There were expectations among fans that senior players like Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Sanju Samson would see making a comeback to the T20I fold against Australia, but the selectors seem to have made up their mind. Immediately after the announcement, Chahal took to social media and posted a smiley emoticon. This was, in many ways, his reaction to this snub, one of disappointment and not understanding where his career was headed.
😊
— Yuzvendra Chahal (@yuzi_chahal) November 20, 2023
Suryakumar Yadav was appointed captain of the Indian team for the upcoming five-match Twenty20 series against Australia. The first match will be played in Visakhapatnam on 23 November. VVS Laxman is set to serve as the head coach for the series, concluding in Bengaluru on 3 December. While most members of the squad that played in Ireland have been retained, the exception is Jasprit Bumrah, who captained during that series and is now rested. Prasidh Krishna, who replaced Hardik Pandya in the World Cup squad, is set to feature in the series. Axar Patel makes a return, taking the place of Ravichandran Ashwin, who replaced him in India’s ODI World Cup. Sanju Samson, part of India’s last T20I assignment in Ireland, has been left out, with Ishan Kishan stepping in for him. Jitesh Sharma retains his spot as the second wicket-keeper in the squad — who can also be the finisher for the side. The selectors met in Ahmedabad on Monday and there were discussions around making Shreyas Iyer as the captain. However, they opted against it due to the substantial workload he has had over the last three months after making a comeback in the Asia Cup. Iyer will now join the squad as the vice-captain for the last two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru. 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.