India vs Australia: Yuzvendra Chahal, Sanju Samson overlooked in Suryakumar Yadav-led squad for T20I series

Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in their five-match T20I series against Australia that starts days after their heart-breaking defeat against Australia in the 2023 ICC World Cup final.

The two sides lock horns just four days after the World Cup final at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium with the first of the first T20Is taking place in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.

Surya’s elevation to captaincy in the shortest format comes following an ankle injury to all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has has been leading India in T20Is after last year’s T20 World Cup. The Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee however, overlooked senior players Sanju Samson and Yuzvendra Chahal in their squad for the upcoming series.

Pandya had suffered an ankle injury during India’s group match against Bangladesh in Pune during the recently-concluded World Cup. Not only did the injury — which was later revealed to be a ligament tear — rule him out of the remainder of the World Cup as well as the Australia T20Is, it has also cast a shadow over his participation in the white-ball leg of the upcoming tour of South Africa starting December.

Surya, who is India’s designated vice-captain in the shortest format, didn’t have the best of runs in the World Cup after replacing Pandya in the middle-order. SKY collected just 106 runs in seven outings at an average of 17.66, the highest of which was a 47-ball 49 against England on a tough wicket in Lucknow, and could only manage 18 off 28 balls in the final against Australia.

The Mumbai Indians star will hope to make up for his underwhelming run in the World Cup with a series of strong performances in the upcoming series against Australia.

Our boys are back in blue again!