Kuldeep Yadav Dropped Again, No Place For Harshit Rana: India XI Predicted For 1st T20I vs Australia
Kuldeep Yadav, who did not play two out of the three ODIs against Australia, also did not feature in the India playing XI for the first T20I chosen by former cricketer Parthiv Patel.
- Ex-cricketer Parthiv Patel left out Kuldeep Yadav from his India playing XI for the 1st T20I against Australia
- Parthiv also chose to omit pacer Harshit Rana and middle-order batter Rinku Singh from his playing XI
- Parthiv's India XI: Abhishek, Gill, Tilak, Suryakumar, Samson, Dube, Reddy, Axar, Arshdeep, Bumrah, Varun
India are set to take on Australia in five T20Is, with the first one at the Manuka Oval at Canberra on October 29. India have been in excellent form in T20I cricket recently, having not lost a single match en route to winning the Asia Cup 2025 in September. Debate and discussion over India's playing XI for the first match has begun with India possessing a high quality roster. Former India cricketer Parthiv Patel made a bold call while picking his playing XI for the first T20I.
Parthiv decided to leave out in-form left-arm chinaman spinner Kuldeep Yadav from his India playing XI for the first T20I.
Kuldeep, who was the highest wicket-taker in the Asia Cup, was left out by Shubman Gill and Gautam Gambhir in the first two ODIs against Australia, leading to severe criticism from many cricket experts.
However, Parthiv went ahead with just two spin-bowling options in his lineup, picking all-rounder Axar Patel and mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy.
Instead, he opted to go with a lineup packed with two pace-bowling all-rounders, in the form of Shivam Dube and Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Parthiv chose to stick with the tried-and-tested top order that India have used in T20Is recently, comprising Abhishek Sharma, vice-captain Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, captain Suryakumar Yadav and wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson.
He also opted for two frontline pacers, picking pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh. This meant that Parthiv left out Harshit Rana, who took four wickets in India's victory in the third ODI at Sydney.
The likes of Rinku Singh and Jitesh Sharma also didn't find a place in Parthiv's XI.
India's XI for the first T20I, as chosen by Parthiv Patel: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.
Kuldeep Yadav
India Cricket Team
Harshit Rana
Suryakumar Yadav
Gautam Gambhir
Parthiv Patel
Australia vs India 2025
Cricket