The Australia vs India T20I series will kickstart on October 29.
The reigning ODI World Cup champions, Australia, have registered a 2-1 home series victory to halt India’s unbeaten run in the format in 2025. Next up, they will face the visitors in a long five-match rubber, starting on October 29. While several changes are set to take place in the hosts’ squad for the upcoming T20Is, they have brought back a forgotten wicketkeeper-batter ahead of the series.
The hosts are yet to lose a home T20I series since 2022, and they would look to extend the dominating record in their forthcoming series against the defending T20 World Cup champions, India. With many of their key figures emphasising Sheffield Shield appearances as the preparation for Ashes 2025, the hosts’ squad is set to witness several changes throughout the series.
Amidst this, a finger injury of Matthew Short has forced McDermott’s inclusion into the Aussie squad as a standby. Notably, the batter had suffered a deep cut on his finger while fielding in the slips during the second ODI in Adelaide. Despite the injury, Short went on to become the highest run-scorer of the match with his crucial 74 in the chase, followed by a 30-run contribution and bowling four overs in the subsequent final fixture in Sydney.
However, a surgery after the conclusion of the ODI rubber has made him unavailable for the initial matches of the 20-over series. But he will remain with Australia’s T20I setup with the hope of returning to the lineup as early as possible.
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The gloveman had last donned the Australian jersey in two matches of the T20I series in India. Moreover, he had scored a fine half-century (54) in the chase of 160 in his latest appearance, but the hosts had claimed the match narrowly with a six-run victory.
McDermott has featured in 25 T20I matches so far, scoring 342 runs, including two fifty-plus scores, at a sub-par strike rate of only 99.70. If featured in the lineup, the 30-year-old would look to better his stats during the clashes against India.
Mitchell Marsh (C), Sean Abbott (matches 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli Beardman (matches 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (matches 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (matches 1-2), Ben McDermott (standby) Glenn Maxwell (matches 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (WK), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe (WK), Matthew Short, Marcus Stoinis, Tanveer Sangha.
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