Australia opener David Warner has opted out of Australia's Twenty20 series in India, citing exhaustion after his impactful performance in the triumphant ODI World Cup campaign.
Despite Australia's six-wicket victory over the hosts in Ahmedabad, where they secured their sixth one-day World Cup title, Warner will not be part of the upcoming five-match T20 series starting in Visakhapatnam on Thursday.
Among the World Cup-winning squad, only seven players, including Travis Head, Glenn Maxwell, and Steve Smith, will continue in India. All-rounder Aaron Hardie will replace Warner, who is gearing up for his Test cricket farewell.
Cricket Australia explained the decision, stating, "Selectors decided Warner would return home on the back of a successful yet demanding World Cup campaign." Warner emerged as Australia's top scorer in the World Cup, amassing 535 runs at an average of 48.63.
For the T20 series, Suryakumar Yadav will lead India in the absence of regular captain Rohit Sharma. Only three players from India's World Cup squad will stay for the T20 series. The series kicks off in Visakhapatnam, followed by matches in Thiruvananthapuram on November 26 and Guwahati on November 28.
Shreyas Iyer will join the Indian squad as vice captain for the last two T20s, scheduled in Raipur on December 1 and Bengaluru on December 5, as confirmed by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
India's squad includes: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad (vice-captain), Ishan Kishan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Shivam Dube, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan, and Mukesh Kumar.
Australia squad: Matthew Wade (Capt), Aaron Hardie, Jason Behrendorff, Sean Abbott, Tim David, Nathan Ellis, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Glenn Maxwell, Tanveer Sangha, Matt Short, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Kane Richardson, Adam Zampa.
