India’s tour of Australia heads to T20s against Canberra on Wednesday, with both teams playing the first match of a five-match series in this format.
The match, which will be played following the One Day International (ODI) between the two teams, will be a key battle as the countries prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup to be held in India and Sri Lanka.
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India, who just defeated Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in September, have won seven of their last eight T20 international matches and will be the favorites to defend their world title on home soil next year.
Al Jazeera Sports takes a closer look at the tense matches in the upcoming series.
What happened in the one-day international series between Australia and India?
The Australians defeated the tourists 2-1 in the one-day international series that began the current tour. However, the Indians ended the 50-over portion of the tour on a particularly high note, with the unbeaten partnership of centurion Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli guiding the team to a nine-wicket victory, eradicating concerns of a whitewash by the hosts.
Australia won the first match of the series in Perth by seven wickets and the second match in Adelaide by two wickets.
Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play in the T20 series?
India’s legendary pair Rohit and Kohli have announced their retirement from the T20 squad after winning the 2024 T20 World Cup in the Caribbean.
Both played important roles in the victory, but after the final, their T20I careers would take longer and soon their Test careers would take longer as well.
The pair are still in contention to qualify for the 50-over 2027 Cricket World Cup to be held in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Who is better in T20 cricket, India or Australia?
India is ranked number one in the world in the T20 format by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Australia follows closely in second place, with England and New Zealand holding on to third and fourth place respectively.
What happened the last time Australia played India in a T20?
This will be the first T20 matchup between the two teams since India defeated Australia in the Super Six stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.
India won the match in St. Lucia by 24 runs and Australia, led by Mitch Marsh, were eliminated from the tournament.
What did India say before the T20 in Australia?
“We are reshaping the team after the Asia Cup,” Indian captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Wednesday.
“The team is doing well and the atmosphere is good. I’ve had fun on the field (in Canberra) the last two days, so I’m looking forward to this series.”
Canberra📍
It’s a chilly night 🥶, but the fielding intensity is above the T20I series 🔥
🎥 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, feet #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/W4otqJo9pe
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 28, 2025
When and where will the 2026 T20 World Cup be held?
The 2026 T20 World Cup will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka in February and March. The opening match will be played on February 7 and the final will be held on March 8 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
What will be the schedule for Australia-India T20 series?
29th October: 1st T20I vs India, Manuka Oval, Canberra 31st October: 2nd T20I vs India, MCG, Melbourne 2nd November: 3rd T20I vs India, Bellerive Oval, Hobart 6th November: 4th T20I vs India, Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast November 8: 5th T20I vs India, The Gabba, Brisbane
Australian team news
Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott will both only feature in the early part of the series, with the focus on England’s upcoming Ashes tour of Australia. The pair will play in a Sheffield Shield (first class) match before facing England.
Cameron Green will be absent from the series to focus on Ashes, while Adam Zampa will be absent on paternity leave.
Pat Cummins was ruled out of the first Test against England due to a back injury and was set to miss the tour of India due to the severity of his problem.
Glenn Maxwell and Ben Dwarshuis, who are recovering from a broken wrist, will be included in the mid-series reinforcements. The latter is also recovering from injury. Marli Beardman also joined the team midway through the series and could potentially make her international debut.
indian team news
Jasprit Bumrah missed the ODI series but will return to India’s T20 squad. It will be his first appearance for Australia since his devastating performance in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series last summer.
There will be only one change from the team that won last month’s Asia Cup, with Nitish Kumar Reddy replacing the injured Hardik Pandya.
Was Shreyas Iyer in the Indian T20 team?
Iyer, who sustained a serious injury in the third ODI, was not selected in the T20 squad for the series. It is unclear when the 30-year-old will return from his splenic laceration. Spokesman Suryakumar on Wednesday reported that India’s ODI vice-captain was in a “stable” condition in hospital after the incident.
Who represents Australia in the T20 series?
Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (Games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Marli Beardman (Games 3-5), Tim David, Ben Dwarshuis (Games 4-5), Nathan Ellis, Josh Hazlewood (Games 1-2), Glenn Maxwell (Games 3-5), Travis Head, Josh Inglis (Week), Matthew Mitchell Kuehnemann Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoini
Who will represent India in the T20 series?
Suryakumar Yadav (c), Shubman Gill, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar
Are tickets still available for the Australia-India T20 series?
The opening match in Canberra was a sold-out crowd. Tickets for the match in Melbourne are expected to be delayed on sale after the initial general allocation sold out early. A limited number of tickets are available for matches in Hobart, Gold Coast and Brisbane.
How to follow Australia vs India T20 series
We’ll be bringing you a comprehensive text commentary stream service for the series, starting with the live build-up to the first game in Canberra on Wednesday at 5:45 GMT on Al Jazeera Sports.
