INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
VISAKHAPATNAM: After breaking a billion hearts on the first day of this week by crushing hot favourites India in the final of the World Cup,
the Australians embark on yet another conquest on Indian soil albeit this time in the shortened version of the game
The visitors will lock horns with a relatively inexperienced and young second-string side led by Suryakumar Yadav in the first of the five
T20Is at the Dr YSR ACA-VDCA Stadium, here on Thursday evening.The Australian selectors showed that they mean business by naming seven
players, who took part in the World Cup, in the T20 squad
The team will be led by Matthew Wade, but it has World Cup winners Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, Steven Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa,
Sean Abbott and Josh Inglis in it
Opener David Warner too was initially named in the squad but was withdrawn after the team won the World Cup.Aaron Hardie, the Western
Australian pace-bowling all-rounder who made his debut for Australia in South Africa earlier this year, has been added to the squad
Kane Richardson has also been drafted in as a replacement for Spencer Johnson, who is recovering from a hamstring injury.The Indian
selectors, on the other hand, choose to rest most of the Indian players who took part in the World Cup
Hence, in terms of experience and for a change, the hosts start as the underdogs in the series.Smarting under the unexpected loss on Sunday,
the Indians will look to pick up the threads in the shortest format of the game
"But the sun will come up tomorrow, and as sportsmen, we move on," Team India's regular coach Rahul Dravid had remarked after the World Cup
loss.Even though Dravid will not be with the team for this series, he would be keen that the SKY-led side will chart a new course and blaze
To make it happen, interim coach VVS Laxman will have a task on hand as it is not going to be easy for this bunch of cricketers against the
Most of the players were part of the gold medal winning team at the recent Asian Games, but they could discover that taking on the
Australians will be a different ball game
They have played mediocre attacks of West Indies, Ireland and some of the lower graded teams at the Asian Games in the recent past
Hence, it is going to be an uphill task for them against the more experienced Australian attack.With the focus on the T20 World Cup next
year, it will not only be a good learning experience for the young Indians but will also give the selectors some food for thought as they
weigh in the options for the mega tournament
The young guns would like to make an impression in whatever chances they get during this series and the next two series involving South
Africa and Afghanistan.Apart from SKY, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yashasvi Jaiswal, N Tilak Verma and Rinku Singh will be keen on making
an impression as some of the senior batters may not make the cut for the T20 World Cup
All eyes will also be on left-arm spinner Axar Patel, who had to miss out on the World Cup due to an injury.
