Virat Kohli is back, he will lead the side in the first T20I against Australia at Visakhapatnam. World Cup spots are open and both the teams would be keen to identify players for the marquee event. India will get busy with the India Premier League, while Australia will head across and play a 50-overs series against Pakistan.
This challenge is going to be a big one for the visitors, as Australia have won only one T20I out of 5 T20Is against India in India. Australia's cricketer of the year, Pat Cummins will feature in a T20I encounter for the first time after 732 days if he takes the field in Vizag.
For India, Shikhar Dhawan will be playing his 50th T20I and will be the 6th Indian to do so after MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh.
Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuzvendra Chahal on the cusp of records
His opening partner, Rohit Sharma sits on 102 sixes and needs only a couple more to zoom past Martin Guptill and Chris Gayle to have the most sixes in T20Is. And then there is Virat Kohli, he needs only 12 more runs to score 500 T20Is vs Australia and will be the first player to achieve this feat. Kohli's average of 49.25 is the 2nd best in T20Is among the players with 1,000
runs. He is only behind Pakistan's Babar Azam.
Much like Kohli, India's X-factor in the bowling department will be Jasprit Bumrah, who will be making a comeback after being rested for the ODI leg in Australia and New Zealand. He now needs two more wickets to reach 50 wickets in T20Is. He will be only the 2nd Indian bowler after R Ashwin to reach this landmark.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal has been Kohli's trump card in T20Is and now he needs 5 more wickets to complete 50 scalps in T20Is. If he gets to the feat in the 1st T20I against Australia, he will become the second fastest bowler after Ajantha Mendis to gallop to 50 T20I wickets.
