India vs Australia T20I series: Squads, schedule, venues, players to watch and all you need to know

India vs Australia T20I series: All you need to know. (Photo: AP)

India and Australia's five-match Twenty20 series is expected to be evenly matched, as both nations have won eight of their previous ten Twenty20 International matches with one loss apiece. Australia had one game washed out, while India had one tied game.

With 15 games to get into the swing of things, the Australia series is the start of India's actual preparation for the T20 World Cup early next year.

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India vs Australia Men's T20I Series:

October 29: First T20I at Manuka Oval, Canberra

October 31: Second T20I at MCG, Melbourne

November 2: Third T20I at Bellerive Oval, Hobart

November 6: Fourth T20I at Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast

November 8: Fifth T20I at The Gabba, Brisbane

India:

After missing the most recent ODI series, Jasprit Bumrah is the star attraction in the Indian squad. For the first time since his amazing Border-Gavaskar Trophy tour last summer, the star pacer will play in Australia.

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The sole alteration from the India team that won the Asia Cup last month is the addition of Nitish Kumar Reddy in place of the injured Hardik Pandya.

Suryakumar Yadav takes over as captain from Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill, who continues to serve as the team's vice-captain.

Although they are not well-known in Australia, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, and Varun Chakaravarthy are part of a new generation of Indian T20 superstars.

India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill (vc), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar

Australia:

Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott are only available for the early stages of the series before they go for Sheffield Shield duties with an eye toward the Ashes, making Australia's lineup more of a moveable feast.

Pat Cummins is out with a back injury, and Cameron Green is not participating in the series at all because of his Test preparations.

Along with Ben Dwarshuis, who is also recovering from injury, Glenn Maxwell, whose fractured wrist is healing, leads the mid-series reinforcements. Mahli Beardman is expected to make his debut for Australia.

Although backup goalkeeper Josh Philippe retains his spot in the team, Josh Inglis, who has recovered from a calf injury, is anticipated to assume the gloves. Tanveer Sangha and Matthew Kuhnemann will handle the spin duty.

Marcus Stoinis and Tim David, who did not play in the recent ODI series, are both back.

Australia T20 squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (games 1-2), Glenn Maxwell (games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis

Head-to-head:

India has dominated Australia in Twenty20 Internationals, winning all but one of their previous eight matches since September 2022.

The most recent of those encounters was the Super Sixes encounter at the T20 World Cup in St. Lucia last year, which eliminated the Aussies from the competition.

India has an impressive T20I record in Australia as well; they have never defeated them in a series that included multiple games in the format on Aussie shores.

Players to watch:

Abhishek Sharma: After becoming an IPL sensation and winning player-of-the-tournament at the most recent Asia Cup after smashing 314 runs from just seven hits, the left-hander from Punjab has developed into one of T20 cricket's most fearsome hitters. On his first trip to Australia, it will be interesting to see how he manages the extra bounce of Australian pitches.

Tim David: David has a strike rate above 200 and an average of above 60 in T20Is. The right-hander is in for a big series if he can handle India's army of skilled spinners.

Form guide:

India's undefeated streak in the Asia Cup, with their most recent loss coming at home to England in January, is an impressive run.

After defeating the West Indies and New Zealand in away series during their stellar run, Australia's sole recent setback was a series loss to South Africa earlier this year.