World champions India will have a point to prove when they face Australia in a five-match T20 series that begins in Canberra on Wednesday, while ramping up preparations for the World Cup that takes place early next year.
India lost the preceding ODI series 2-1. The return of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma did not go according to plan, but both signed off with a sensational effort during a nine-wicket win in Sydney where Rohit scored a ton and Kohli a fine fifty.
Since it is the T20 World Cup cycle, teams are looking to finalise plans, squads and playing XIs with around 100 days to go for the showpiece event.
India will be eager to come out on top against a strong Australian side, and not just because they are the world and Asian T20 champions.
It was the Test series defeat in Australia last season that triggered wholesale changes in Indian cricket. Rohit and Kohli were pushed away from the Test team, spinner Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement, seamer Mohammad Shami was mostly sidelined and the leadership structure of the team flipped completely.
The Indian team has now suffered setbacks in successive formats on Australian soil and will be desperate to get things right in 20-over cricket.
The return of fast-bowler Jasprit Bumrah will be a huge relief after he was not picked for the 50-overs assignment. His absence was keenly felt in the ODIs as India's attack paled in comparison to that of Australia who had Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood.
However, it is in batting and spin where India have a big advantage. Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma and Shivam Dube will still be fresh from a superb Asia Cup in the UAE.
Add to it the spin of Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel and Washington Sundar, and India have a potent team. They will, however, have to manage without star all-rounder Hardik Pandya who is still nursing a quadriceps injury.
The hosts, on the other hand, have a different set of issues.
A five-match T20 series against the world champions is great warm-up for the World Cup, but will eat into their preparation for the big assignment at the end of November – the Ashes.
Australia have been forced to make a number of changes to their T20 squad, including recalls for Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dwarshuis. This is to allow Test contenders to play in the Sheffield Shield and get ready for the five-match Ashes series.
Pace ace Josh Hazlewood will miss the last three T20s against India while fellow fast-bowler Sean Abbott will miss the last two.
All-rounder Maxwell, who had been sidelined by a wrist injury, will come in for the last three games while left-arm pacer Dwarshuis will be available for the last two after being ruled out of the ODI series against India with a calf problem.
Uncapped quick Mahli Beardman will also join the squad for the last three games of the series that begins in Canberra before moving on to Melbourne, Hobart, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
Some Test team regulars and also those on the bench will play in the Sheffield Shield, which is likely to weaken the T20 squad, especially in the latter part of the series.
And with the Ashes series going on up until January, the Aussies might get very little time with their first-choice T20 team before the World Cup begins in February in the subcontinent.
