Australia T20Is: Pandya's availability uncertain, Surya or Ruturaj to lead

Indias injured T20I captain Hardik Pandya is unlikely to be available for Indias upcoming fivematch Australia T20I series starting November 23 as the star allrounder will require more time to recover from his leftankle ligament tearIt is understood that the team for the Australia T20I series will be announced only after Indias World Cup semifinal which in all likelihood will be played in Mumbai on November 15According to sources in the BCCI a more practical scenario for Hardik would be to get fit by the time the South Africa T20 series starts from December 10 in DurbanThere is some time before Hardik can be declared fit and available for selection It would be more practical for him to try and complete his rehabilitation with a possible RTP Return To Play during SA series It will certainly be NCA Sports science teams call a senior BCCI source privy to the developments told PTI on conditions of anonymityIt is understood that either Suryakumar Yadav the designated vicecaptain of the T20I side or Asian Games goldwinning skipper Ruturaj Gaikwad will be leading the sideWhile Surya is playing in the ODI World Cup unlike seniors like Rohit Sharma Virat Kohli KL Rahul and the pace unit which needs to be fresh for the Test series the Mumbai Indians star is currently being looked at as a twoformat whiteball specialistsAlso ReadBruised but not batteredIt is an accepted norm that whiteball Indian specialists especially batters can play 2530 games per year across two whiteball formats apart from IPL fitness permitting Hence if Surya himself doesnt ask for rest he is the favourite to lead the side If not Ruturaj is the next best choiceLooking at T20 World Cup in the AmericasThe T20 World Cup will be held in the Americas United States and West Indies in June and July next year after the IPL and the core team for the Australia series will be formed by all those who played in Ireland and the Asian GamesObviously during any big event someone like Jasprit Bumrah will be pressed into the action as he would be nicely warmed up with sufficient game time post the Indian Premier League Ditto for a Mohammed Siraj the official saidThe likes of Arshdeep Singh Avesh Khan Mukesh Kumar are likely to be picked for the seriesFor the upcoming Australia series it is expected that the likes of Sanju Samson Ishan Kishan Yuzvendra Chahal are expected to make a comeback to the side apart from those who performed during the Asian Games If Axar Patel recovers from his hamstring injury he will be selected as Ravindra Jadeja surely would get rest before the South Africa tourAlso ReadThe real King in our midstWhat about Bhuvi Parag AbhishekIf one goes by the pattern of Indian team selection over the past few years the key to success has been consistency in selectionTo be selected in the Indian team good show in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy SMAT is important but it is more important to crack the IPL code year after yearThere are three prominent SMAT performers this time Abhishek Sharma Riyan Parag and veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar but the question remains where will they be fittedBhuvneshwar had been exceptional in the tournament with 16 wickets from seven games with an economy rate of under six runs per over The swing is back and for the domestic batters he was virtually unplayable But with an average speed of 128130 kmph will he still be effective in international cricket is something Ajit Agarkar and his colleagues need to addressSimilarly Abhishek Sharma 485 runs 2 hundreds 3 fifties has scored all his runs at the opening slot where India already has Ruturaj Yashasvi Jaiswal Ishan Kishan and even Shubman Gill when he is well restedAbhisheks leftarm spin is an advantage but might not be good enough as of now to merit selectionIn case of the flamboyant Riyan 510 and 11 wickets possibly the first cricketer from Assam who is very close to national selection his competitors for middleorder slots are Rahul Tripathi Tilak Varma and Rinku Singh who have been proven IPL performers and deserve a long rope in T20 format going into next years World CupIn case of his offspin Riyan has Washington Sundar who if fit walks into the T20 squad as competitorRiyans name is under consideration but whether he leapfrogs any of the current IPL middleorder performers courtesy his seven fifties in SMAT is there to be seenWith inputs from agencies