Australia and India will be clashing in the first T20I match of the three-match series on November 21 in Brisbane. This will commence the two-month long India tour of Australia which includes three T20Is, four Tests and three ODI matches.

India is coming off a 3-0 T20I series win against West Indies, while Australia was whitewashed 3-0 by Pakistan in the 3-match T20I series in Dubai. Australia is suffering heavily in absence of Smith and Warner, while new captain Aaron Finch is trying to take the grip of the situation.

India, on the other hand, will be boosted by the return of their batting superstar and captain Virat Kohli, who was rested from the Windies T20I series. He has the most runs for India against Australia in T20Is, 423 runs in 11 matches with a best of 90* at an average of 60.42 and strike rate of 144.36.

Australia will also have to face the ire of two in-form Indian openers In Rohit Sharma, who became the first batsman to hit four centuries in T20Is and Shikhar Dhawan, who recorded his highest T20I score of 93 against the Windies.

KL Rahul might retain his place at no.3 in the T20I squad thanks to his performance against England and the cameos he played against Windies. Rishabh Pant finally came good with the bat in the final T20I against Windies and the fast-bouncy pitches in Australia might help his stroke play a lot.

The finisher’s role might possibly be shared by Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya. Both have shown their penchant for winning matches on their own, and Karthik was immaculate in the execution of his plan in a tough chase in Eden Gardens against the Windies. Krunal Pandya might be included as the big-hitting, slow bowling all-rounder.

Kuldeep Yadav might be the senior spinner in the team as the absence of a fast bowling all-rounder allows only two spinners to be included in the playing XI and with Krunal’s ability with the bat, Yuzvendra Chahal mostly will find himself warming the bench in Australia. Kuldeep has more variations and Australians have struggled against his wrist spin.

Jasprit Bumrah is poised to return to the land where he made his international debut in 2016 and he has already grown leaps and bounds since then. His partner most possibly might be Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was the first bowler from India to take fifer in all the three formats. The duo is considered to be a lethal death overs bowling combo in the world.

Their support might be the young left-arm pacer in Khaleel Ahmed, who has impressed with his pace and ability to pick wickets both at the start and in the death overs.

COC Predicted India playing XI for the first T20I:
Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Rishabh Pant (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed