India vs Australia | Virat Kohli returns to lead India, Mayank Markande replaces Khaleel Ahmed in T20I squad

02/15/2019

After sitting out for the last two ODIs and the T20I series against New Zealand, Virat Kohli has made a comeback to lead the Indian T20 team for the Australia series. While Jasprit Bumrah has been added the squad after a well-deserved break, Mayank Markande has received his maiden India call-up.

After a long summer in Australia, the national selection committee decided to rest Virat Kohli for the last two ODIs against New Zealand and the T20I series that India ended up losing 1-2. It came after a long summer Down Under for India in which Kohli had led the team to unprecedented success in Australia. However, after a well-deserved couple of weeks of break, the Indian skipper made a comeback to lead the team for the T20I series, starting on February 24 in Vizag.

The Australia series will also end Jasprit Bumrah’s break as he was rested from the team for the Australia and New Zealand limited-overs leg. Bumrah will lead the Indian pace attack in the series, alongside Umesh Yadav and Siddarth Kaul. Khaleel Ahmed and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are the ones who have made way for young Punjab leg spinner Mayank Markande to get his maiden cap for the National team.

Rishabh Pant and Vijay Shankar have retained their positions in the team with MS Dhoni continuing to be the man behind the stumps. With India finalizing their final 15 for the World Cup later this year, Shankar and Pant will have a lot riding on the upcoming series to seal a place in the team.

Indian squad: 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, Sidharth Kaul, Mayank Markande