Australia Playing 11 vs India – 1st T20I, 2023

Australia takes on India in a five-match T20I series with the first T20I in Visakhapatnam on November 23, Thursday. The match starts at 7 pm IST with the two teas locking horns in a bilateral series just three days after the end of the World Cup final.

Australia played an ODI series ahead of the start of the World Cup against India which they lost 2-1. They lost to India in the league stage but beat the Men in Blue in the final to lift the World Cup title for the sixth time.

Matthew Wade will lead the Australian team in the series with the senior players rested. Glenn Maxwell, Travis Head, Marcus Stoinis and Adam Zampa are the five players who are part of the T20I squad who played in the final.

Aaron Hardie has been named as David Warner’s replacement who pulled out of the T20I series. Cricket Australia in a statement said that Warner will return home on the back of a memorable World Cup campaign. He scored 535 runs at the World Cup at an average of nearly 50.

Despite the absence of the senior players, the Australian t20I side looks like a competitive unit. Several players are part of IPL franchises and know the Indian conditions well. The others play in the BBL regularly and are T20 specialists in their own right.

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The series is an opportunity for players from both teams to make a statement and stay in the reckoning for next year’s T20 World Cup. India are the number-one ranked T20I side heading into this series, while the Aussies are placed fourth.

Australia Playing 11 vs India – 1st T20I, 2023

Travis Head

Travis Head will open the batting for Australia. He is fresh off match-winning 137 to help Australia beat India in the final. He was awarded the Men of the Match for his knock as well. Head started and ended his World Cup campaign with centuries.

Matt Short

Short can open the batting with Head. He was a part of the ODI side that played the ODI series against India before the World Cup. He can also chip in with a few overs of off-spin.

Steve Smith

Steve Smith will bat at three. He was dismissed for 4 in the World Cup final against India. As it turned out, the ball was missing the wickets eventually. Smith stayed back for the T20I series after Australia’s World Cup campaign.

Glenn Maxwell

Maxwell can slot in at four. He ended the World Cup with 400 runs from nine games at an average of 66.67 with 40 fours and 22 sixes in the tournament. He also scored 201 against Afghanistan, the highest score for the Aussies in a World Cup game.

Tim David

David can slot in at five. The Australian hard-hitter was not a part of the World Cup squad but is now a regular in the T20I side. Some big hits can be expected from him.

Marcus Stoinis

Stoinis can slot in at six. He did not play the last few games including the final for Australia. Nonetheless, he is an experienced player and can be crucial with his all-round abilities.

Matthew Wade (C/WK)

Matthew Wade the wicketkeeper-batter will bat at seven and lead Australia. By his own admission, the southpaw was surprised as he was named the skipper for this series. Wade has played 75 T20Is for Australia.

Sean Abbott

Abbott can bat at eight. He scored a fifty in the ODI series against India and proved his potential with the bat lower down the order. He can also be one of the three pacers in the XI.

Jason Behrendorff

The southpaw can be the second pacer in the XI. He gets to swing the ball early and can pose problems for the Indian opening batters. Behrendorff has picked up nine wickets in 1o T20Is.

Kane Richardson

Kane Richardson has been added as a replacement for Spencer Johnson, who is recovering from a hamstring injury. He will be the third seamer in the XI. Richarson has a lot of experience of playing in Indian conditions.

Adam Zampa

Zampa concludes the likely Australian XI. He is fresh off a memorable World Cup campaign picking up 23 wickets. He is the specialist spinner in the side.

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