India’s five-match T20I series against Australia starts today (November 23). Here are five Indian players for whom this series, played immediately after the World Cup, will be important.

Just four days after the month-and-a-half long World Cup came to an end in a rather one-sided final between India and Australia, the two teams will be at it again in a bilateral T20I series consisting of five matches.

With both fans and players still recovering from the draining tournament, there hasn’t been a lot of interest for the upcoming T20I series. However, a young-looking India squad led by Suryakumar Yadav, will have a few players for whom these five games will be of utmost importance.

Here are five Indian players for whom the Australia T20Is will actually carry meaning.

Suryakumar Yadav

Yadav boasts of an enviable T20I record. He is ranked No.1 in the world in ICC’s list of batters in the shortest format and is the designated captain for this series. However, coming off a poor World Cup where he managed to play just one innings of note, this will be an important assignment for Yadav to get back into T20 rhythm ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.

This will also be a huge opportunity for him to showcase his leadership skills and provide the team with another reliable captaincy option for the immediate future in the absence of seniors like Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, and Hardik Pandya.

Ruturaj Gaikwad

The vice-captain for the first three matches of the series, Gaikwad is clearly being groomed as a potential leader for the future. However, his returns in international cricket haven’t been outstanding so far. From 14 T20Is, he averages 27.70 with a strike rate of 127.64 and only two fifty-plus scores, while from four ODIs, he averages 26.50.

Gaikwad has been a bank at the top for CSK in the last few IPL seasons, but is yet to replicate that level of consistency for India. This might be a make-or-break series for him in terms of cementing a spot at the top of the order in the Indian T20I team before the next T20 World Cup.

Axar Patel

Axar was originally named in India’s squad for the 2023 World Cup but had to be replaced at the last moment as he failed to recover from a quadriceps injury. This series will mark a return to international cricket for the left-arm spin-bowling all-rounder, who occupies a vital spot in the batting order at No.7.

Rinku Singh

Rinku Singh impressed one and all with his death overs hitting in IPL 2023. He was given a T20I debut against Ireland, where he scored 75 runs from two innings at a strike rate of more than 200. This five-match series against Australia will mark the first major international outing for Rinku against a top side and will give India an opportunity to see how well he performs the finisher’s role under pressure.

Ravi Bishnoi

Bishnoi has made it to the T20I squad for this series ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal, India’s highest wicket-taker in the format. So far, his international career has been irregular. Having made his T20I debut in February 2022, he has featured in 16 games only as of now, but has a more than decent record to show for it – 25 wickets at 6.81 runs per over.

All of 23 years of age, this can be the series which cements Bishnoi’s place as India’s frontline spinner in T20Is.

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