After the immense heartbreak in the final of the ODI Cricket World Cup 2023, Team India is all set to face Australia again in a five-match T20I series. The first match will be played on Wednesday in Visakhapatnam with Suryakumar Yadav leading the hosts. Apart from him, the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Rinku Singh have also been named in the squad as almost all the senior players have been rested. Former India batter Aakash Chopra stated that this series will be an important one as the players need to consolidate their places in the team before the next year's T20 World Cup.
Having three brilliant openers in the squad, Chopra also said that it will be interesting to see that out of Gaikwad, Jaiswal and Kishan, who will be a better option for the team.
"The World Cup team needs to be selected, so this is an opportunity for you, and you won't get too many chances because you don't have 25 T20Is before the next World Cup. It's good if you make the most of these chances, and consolidate your place, or else you will regret it," said Chopra on his YouTube Channel.
"This series is important if you see it from that angle. It's going to be a big question who will open among the three openers - Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Yashasvi Jaiswal. It could be a make-or-break series for any of the three or all three," he added.
Suryakumar will lead the team while Ruturaj Gaikwad will be his deputy for the first three T20Is. Shreyas Iyer will join the squad for the last two T20Is in Raipur and Bengaluru, respectively, and he will take over the role of vice-captain from Gaikwad.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held next year in West Indies and the United States of America.