A fit-again Jasprit Bumrah was recalled to the Indian team for the T20 World Cup along with fellow pace bowler Harshal Patel, but spin all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was ruled out of the tournament because of injury.
The two teams last played each other in the 2019 World Cup.
Playing two medium pacers on a drab Chennai wicket didn't make sense. Australia at least could say pace is their strength, but for Team India it made no sense.
While there were no glaring surprises in the squad, Manish Pandey has once again been sidelined as the selectors continue to repose their trust in out of form KL Rahul.
New Zealand were bundled out for 126
Suryakumar Yadav and Virat Kohli slammed half-centuries as India edged Australia by six wickets in the third and final T20 International in Hyderabad on Sunday, to claim the series 2-1.
Jasprit Bumrah was declared fit and was available for selection, but the selectors don't want to rush him back.
India will aim to shed their archaic playing style for good with a 'young and fearless' bunch in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, starting in Wellington on Friday.
Hardik suffered an acute lower back injury five months ago and underwent a surgery in London, following which he has been rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru. Hardik Pandya hit four towering sixes and ran swiftly between the wickets at the DY Patil T20 Cup as chief selector MSK Prasad closely monitored his fitness.
Images from the third day's play in the first Test between India and England, at Trent Bridge, Nottingham.
The Indian team is good enough to reach the semi-finals of T20 World Cup but for the side to play at its full potential, Hardik Pandya "needs to start bowling" and Bhuvneshwar Kumar must crank up the pace, feels former Australian speedster Brett Lee.
With Ravindra Jadeja unavailable because of injury, will India include the left-handed Rishabh Pant over Dinesh Karthik who is a designated finisher in the squad?
Former India pace spearhead Javagal Srinath has raised doubts about the team's bowling attack ahead of the upcoming ODI cricket World Cup though he has rated the defending champions' batting line-up as the strongest going into the showpiece event.
In the middle-order, Shreyas will replace Kohli, who was given a much-needed break ahead of his landmark 100th Test.
India will look to clinch the series albeit with a more impactful batting performance from the middle-order in the second T20 International in Ranchi on Friday.
Jayant Yadav will replace off-spinner Washington Sundar, who tested positive for COVID-19 during the camp in Bengaluru.
'India fans can't wait for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2021 to start for this reason. We have the players, we have the momentum -- we just need to go out there and execute now.'
India captain KL Rahul was on Wednesday ruled out of the five-match T20 International series against South Africa owing to a right groin injury
India's white ball squad, led by Shikhar Dhawan, will quarantine in Mumbai from June 14 to 28 and undergo six RT-PCR tests on alternate days before flying off to Colombo for the six-match series against Sri Lanka, starting on July 13.
India would look to finalise their batting order for the tournament-proper when they take on Australia in their second and final warm-up game in Dubai on Wednesday.
India have only themselves to blame for their below-par showing in the Asia Cup as they struggled to put up consistent performances with both bat and ball.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar has said that switching to Test format would not be a difficult task but bowling on flat Bangladesh pitches will be a very demanding.
Chance for India batters to get their act right against Bangladesh
Dasun Shanaka is their 10th captain in nearly five years, and barring a classy batsman like Dhananjaya de Silva and a steady pacer in Dishmantha Chameera, this team lacks quality to challenge the might of the Indian team led by Shikhar Dhawan.
Umesh was brought in as Shami's replacement
Save Jasprit Bumrah, whose injury-prone body and exceptional skills demand workload management, questions are now being raised as to why the likes of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja opted out of Duleep Trophy.
Images from the first T20 International between India and West Indies at the Brian Lara stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad on Friday.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar registered remarkable figures of 2/15 in four overs, including 17 dot balls, in a high-scoring contest which saw over 400 runs being scored.
What changes must India make to the playing XI for Friday's second T20 International against Australia?
The bids on Rishabh Pant could well soar like his audacious no-look six in the ongoing Perth Test, as he seems poised to become the highest paid player among the 577 who will go under the hammer at the two-day IPL mega auction, starting in Jeddah on Sunday.
A desperate Sunrisers have hit the reset button this season, bringing in Australia's World Cup winning captain Pat Cummins.
'If you speak to anybody about Dhoni, they will all tell you about how helpful he is.'
Rahane to lead India in one-off Test vs Afghanistan
India will need another near perfect game to take the five-match series into the decider.
Virat Kohli is appalled by the team's sloppy fielding against West Indies
'It turned out to be a special day. I have never thought about taking five wickets. I just wanted the team to win which is more important.'
Former India captain Rahul Dravid has said that players like Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who have been asked to sit out by the BCCI, should have been asked to play for their respective states in the Ranji Trophy quarter-final starting Wednesday.
Pundits believe skipper Virat Kohli is blessed to have at his disposal arguably the best ever Indian pace attack.
Virat Kohli was rested from the three-match T20I series against the West Indies.
Cheteshwar Pujara has made a comeback to India's Test team while youngsters Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have received an India call-up as the selection committee on Sunday named the squad for the five-match T20I series against South African in June and the one-off Test against England in July.
