The T20I series will commence on October 29.
After back-to-back defeats in Perth and Adelaide, Team India scripted a dominating fightback at Sydney. A comprehensive nine-wicket victory over the hosts also helped the Men in Blue avoid their maiden ODI clean sweep in Australia. Moreover, the fans’ long wait to witness a Rohit Sharma – Virat Kohli partnership also came true with an unbeaten stand of 168 runs.
However, India would now want to carry on the momentum as they shift their focus to a five-match T20I series, starting on October 29. Coming on the back of a triumphant, unbeaten run at the ACC Asia Cup 2025, the team would look to avenge the 2-1 ODI series loss in the forthcoming 20-over clashes.
While Shubman Gill, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana and Arshdeep Singh are the constants for the entire white-ball series, let’s take a look at the changes in India’s squad ahead of Australia T20Is.
Shreyas Iyer currently features in only the 50-over squad of India. The batter’s return to the Test squad appears to be slim, following his decision to take a break from the domestic red-ball cricket due to back issues. He is also unlikely to make a comeback in the T20I side. The youngster Tilak Varma has already sealed the No.4 spot in the lineup with his remarkable performances in recent times. Notably, Shreyas’ last appearance in the format came against the same opposition in December 2023.
After a brilliant Test tour of England, Mohammed Siraj also put up an impressive performance in the recently concluded 50-over series. Though the highest wicket-taker of the overseas red-ball series managed only two scalps in three ODIs, the pacer was consistent with his economical spells. However, Siraj is yet to play in a T20I since the three-match series in Sri Lanka in July 2024.
The former India skipper, Rohit Sharma, displayed a fine touch of form after making a comeback in international cricket since the ICC Champions Trophy in March 2025. Following a single-digit score in the series-opener, the batter quickly regained his rhythm to notch up 194 runs in the subsequent fixtures. However, the Player of the Series for ODIs had already called it a day in the shortest format of the game after guiding India to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 victory.
Alongside Rohit, the run-machine Virat Kohli had also decided to retire from the 20-over internationals, following India’s second T20 World Cup win. However, after a long seven-month gap in international cricket, Kohli found it tough to get off the mark with a career-first consecutive ducks in ODIs. But the chase-master once again showcased his masterclass in a run-chase with an unbeaten 74-run knock in the series-final.
The Indian wicketkeeper-batter, KL Rahul, also represents the national team in two formats currently. Following a remarkable England series, the batter had also top-scored with a gritty 38 in a rain-marred first ODI in Perth. However, the gloveman has long been outside India’s 20-over plans as his last appearance in the format came in the T20 World Cup 2022.
The seamer also had a decent outing in the five-Test tour of England. But Prasidh Krishna proved to be expensive with a high economy rate of 7.42 in his only opportunity in Sydney. His last T20I came in November 2023 against the same opposition.
The keeper-batter earned his maiden ODI call-up after successive brilliant knocks in Tests. Following a decent performance in England, Dhruv Jurel made the headlines with sublime tons for India A and in the West Indies series. Though the player was included in the Men In Blue’s squad in Rishabh Pant’s absence, he did not receive a chance to make his debut on Australian soil.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was also coming on the back of a brilliant run of form after notching up three hundreds in his last seven Test matches. But since his ODI debut against England in February 2025, Jaiswal is yet to get another opportunity in the format. His last T20I appearance had also come in the Sri Lanka series in July 2024.
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Finisher Rinku Singh would hope to get a bit more opportunities in the upcoming five T20Is after hitting the championship-winning boundary in the Asia Cup 2025. Notably, the batter only played the tournament final and just faced the last delivery of the event. However, he is also carrying on a stunning form after notching up an unbeaten 165 in the first round of the Ranji Trophy 2025-26.
Tilak would want to continue a similar momentum in Australia after his crucial, match-winning 69-run knock against the arch-rivals Pakistan in the subcontinental tournament. Following the Asia Cup 2025 Final heroics, the batter had also scored a pivotal 94 in the home List A fixture against Australia A.
The T20I captain of India, Suryakumar Yadav, would look to get back among the runs after a sub-par campaign in the Asian T20 event. Apart from a 47 not out in the second group-stage fixture against Pakistan, the batter managed to put up just 25 runs in the remaining six matches of the tournament.
The swashbuckling opener had a record-breaking campaign in his maiden Asia Cup appearance. Moreover, the destructive batter registered the highest-ever run tally in a single edition of the tournament. Abhishek Sharma scored 314 runs in seven matches at a pulsating strike rate of 200.
All-rounder Shivam Dube had played a key role in India’s Asia Cup 2025 victory with his crucial 33-run cameo in the summit clash. His match-winning partnership with Tilak proved to be the ultimate decider during the challenging phase in the chase. Besides the rescue act in the Final, he had also maintained an impressive economy rate throughout the tournament and also picked up five wickets.
Following a remarkable outing for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025, Jitesh Sharma was recalled in India’s T20I setup for the subcontinental event. However, the batter is yet to receive a chance to don the Indian blue since January 2024. His T20I stats have also been underwhelming so far, with just 100 runs in nine matches, averaging a below-par 14.28.
The spin-wizard Varun Chakravarthy is set to take on Australia for the first time in his T20I career. He has had a decent performance in India’s latest T20 assignment. Varun snared seven wickets in as many matches of the Asia Cup 2025 and would look to carry on a similar momentum in his debut series on Australian soil.
India’s prime pacer, Jasprit Bumrah, missed out on the ODI series due to his workload management. Previously, the bowler continued his usual stunning form in the three England Tests and two home red-ball fixtures facing the Caribbeans. The 31-year-old also scalped seven wickets in his five appearances in the Asian T20 tournament.
The hard-hitting opener also had a decent campaign after moving into the middle-order, following the T20I vice-captain Gill’s inclusion in the playing XI. Sanju Samson will be joining the Indian squad in Australia after putting up 132 runs in seven Asia Cup 2025 fixtures, striking at 124.53.
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