After staying away for action for nearly about nine months due to coronavirus pandemic, the Indian men’s cricket team is all set to resume international cricket with a number of limited-over fixtures and Test series against Australia from later this month.
The Virat Kohli-led side was last seen in action during the three-match One-Day Internationals (ODI) series against South Africa at home.The first match between the two sides was abandoned without a ball being bowled before the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) decided to call off the series due to COVID-19 crises.
Australia, on the other hand, will head into the series against India on the back of 1-2 loss in the three-match T20I series and 2-1 win in as many ODIs against England in September.
India and Australia are slated to play three-match T20I series and as many ODIs, beginning November 27 at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG). The two sides will then head into the Border-Gavaskar Trophy featuring four Tests, starting December 17 at the Adelaide Oval.
Under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, India became the first Asian side to defeat Australia in a Test series Down Under in 2018-19.
Meanwhile, the Men in Blue clinched a 2-1 victory over Australia in the previous three-match ODI series between the two sides in January this year.
Australia, on the other hand, will be eager to come up with a better performance than last time around and keen to clinch the series against the Kohli-led side at their own den. The hosts will be boosting with confidence because of the return of their former skipper Steve Smith and former vice-captain David Warner who both missed the last series due to the one-year suspension imposed on them for their involvement in ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in March 2018.
Here is everything you need to know about India’s tour to Australia 2020:
ODIs
November 27: India vs Australia 1st ODI at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), 9:10 AM IST
November 29: India vs Australia 2nd ODI at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), 9:10 AM IST
December 2: India vs Australia 3rd ODI at Manuka Oval in Canberra,9:10 AM IST
T20s
December 4: India vs Australia 1st T20I at Manuka Oval in Canberra, 1:40 PM IST
December 6: India vs Australia 2nd T20I at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), 1:40 PM IST
December 8: India vs Australia 3rd T20I at Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG), 1:40 PM IST
Tests
December 17-21: India vs Australia 1st Test at Adelaide Oval, 9:30 AM IST
December 26-30: India vs Australia 2nd Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG), 9:30 AM IST
January 7-11: India vs Australia 3rd Test, Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG),9:30 AM IST
January 15-19: India vs Australia 4th Test at the Gabba in Brisbane,9:30 AM IST
SQUADS:
INDIA
India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper).
India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, T Natarajan.
India Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.
AUSTRALIA
Australia ODI squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Australia T20 Squad: Aaron Finch (Captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Moises Henriques, Marnus Labuschagne, Glenn Maxwell, Daniel Sams, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Marcus Stoinis, Matthew Wade (wicketkeeper), David Warner, Adam Zampa.
Australia Test Squad: Tim Paine (Captain, wicketkeeper), Sean Abbott, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Will Pucovski, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, Matthew Wade, David Warner.
The series between the two sides will be telecast on Sony Network in India, while the live streaming of the event will be available on SonyLiv.
