Star Indian batter Suryakumar Yadav is slated to captain the Men in Blue in the forthcoming five-match T20I series against Australia, which starts in Vizag on November 23 and ends in Bengaluru on December 3.

Hardik Pandya suffered an injury during the ongoing ICC Men's Cricket World Cup and so his availability is uncertain. The senior national selection committee of the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) will soon announce the team for the series.

The top-ranked T20I batter in the world has previously led India's T20I team as vice-captain during their West Indies tour, which included five games played in the US and the Caribbean. The selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, is inclined to name the 33-year-old as captain because Pandya's ankle injury may not fully heal.

As the Indian Cricket Board realized that Pandya would probably need at least two months to fully recuperate from the ankle injury, rumors of Suryakumar taking over as captain began to circulate. He may therefore miss three Twenty20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals against South Africa, and it's still uncertain if surgery is required.

The selection committee is planning to rest the majority of players involved in the ongoing World Cup. Notably, India will face Australia in the World Cup final on November 19 at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Players like Ishan Kishan and Prasidh Krishna, who have had limited game time in the marquee event, are expected to feature in the T20I series against Australia.