Irfan Pathan's Bold XI: Why Varun Chakravarthy Gets Nod Over Kuldeep Yadav

Pathan's final XI resembled the setup India went with during its title-winning run at the Asia Cup last month. Apart from Hardik Pandya, who has been ruled out of the series due to an injury, Pathan stuck with the established batting setup.

He chose vice-captain Shubman Gill and "best T20 batter" Abhishek Sharma as the opening pair. Pathan drafted captain Suryakumar Yadav at number three, followed by Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel and Shivam Dube.

Instead of opting for a spin-laden setup, Pathan went for a pace-heavy attack, with Harshit Rana, India's leading T20I wicket-taker, Arshdeep Singh and 'world's best' Jasprit Bumrah. With one slot left and two spinners in contention, Pathan backed Chakravarthy to make the cut in the final XI.

"Since the match is in Canberra, it is likely India would go for one less spinner. The only question remains whether Kuldeep should play for Chakravarthy. I believe Chakravarthy should play," Pathan said in a video posted by Star Sports on X.

On the eve of the series opener, Suryakumar addressed the challenge of selecting a 15-member squad, considering the current talent pool India possesses. For the 34-year-old captain, the selection is a "good headache", and he affirmed that the players understand the team's requirements as well as the focus: helping India win matches.

"It's a good headache to have so many options, [whether] fast bowlers, [or] spinners. From the top to No. 7, everyone is flexible; anyone can bat anywhere. It is a little difficult during squad selection, but in this team, the atmosphere is such that everyone knows that the goal is to win," Suryakumar told reporters ahead of the first T20I against Australia in Canberra.

"If we want to win the match, then never mind the combination. So, even if someone has done well in the last two matches, but he is not fitting in the combination for the next game - for example, if we want to play an extra spinner or play an all-rounder instead of a fast bowler - the player understands. We have reached that situation," he added.

Irfan Pathan's predicted India Playing XI: Abhishek Sharma, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Tilak Varma, Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakravarthy.

- ANI