Australia vs India: T20I collection – groups, begin, lineups, tickets, stream | Cricket News | USAEMALL.com

India’s white-ball tour of Australia heads to Canberra and the T20s on Wednesday when the sides play the first of their five-game series in the format.

The matches, which follow the one-day internationals (ODIs) between the sides, mark a crucial contest as the nations prepare for the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.

India, fresh from beating Pakistan in the Asia Cup final in September, have won seven of the last eight T20 internationals between the sides and will be heavy favourites to defend their world title on home soil next year.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer to look at the crunch clashes in the series to come:

What happened in Australia and India’s one-day international series?

The Australians beat the tourists 2-1 in the one-day international series that began the current tour. The Indians ended the 50-over part of the trip on a particular high, however, with an unbeaten partnership between centurion Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli steering their side to a nine-wicket win that ended fears of a white-wash by the hosts.

Australia won the first match of the series by seven wickets in Perth, while they claimed the second match by two wickets in Adelaide.

Will Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli play in the T20 series?

India’s legendary pairing of Rohit and Kohli announced their retirement from T20 internationals following the 2024 T20 World Cup victory in the Caribbean.

Both played key roles in the victory but called time on their T20I careers after the final, and would soon also call time on their Test careers.

The pair still remain in contention to play in the 50-over 2027 Cricket World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Who is better in T20 cricket – India or Australia?

India are ranked number one in the world in the T20 format by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Australia follow closely in second spot, while England and New Zealand hold third and fourth spots respectively.

What happened the last time Australia played India in a T20?

This is the first T20 meeting between the sides since India beat Australia in the Super Sixes stage of the 2024 T20 World Cup.

India claimed victory in the match in St Lucia by 24 runs in a result that eliminated Mitch Marsh’s Australia from the tournament.

What has India said before the Australia T20s?

“We’re regrouping after the Asia Cup,” India captain Suryakumar Yadav said on Wednesday.

“The team looks good and the atmosphere is good. We had fun on the (Canberra) ground in the last two days, so we’re looking forward to this series.”

Canberra📍

A chilly evening 🥶, but the fielding intensity remains on point ahead of the T20I series 🔥

🎥 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐝, ft. #TeamIndia #AUSvIND pic.twitter.com/W4otqJo9pe

— BCCI (@BCCI) October 28, 2025

When and where is the 2026 T20 World Cup?

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, while the final will be staged on March 8, at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.

What is the schedule for the Australia-India T20 series?

• October 29: First T20I vs India, Manuka Oval, Canberra
• October 31: Second T20I vs India, MCG, Melbourne
• November 2: Third T20I vs India, Bellerive Oval, Hobart
• November 6: Fourth T20I vs India, Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast
• November 8: Fifth T20I vs India, The Gabba, Brisbane

Australia team news

With one eye on England’s imminent arrival for their Ashes tour of Australia, Josh Hazlewood and Sean Abbott are both only available for the early parts of the series. The pair will both play Sheffield Shield (first-class) matches before lining up against the English.

Cameron Green will miss the series to focus on the Ashes, while Adam Zampa is absent due to paternity leave.

Pat Cummins has been ruled out of the first Test against England due to his back injury and was always going to miss India’s tour due to the extent of the problem.

Glenn Maxwell, who is recovering from a broken wrist, and Ben Dwarshuis are among the mid-series reinforcements; the latter is also returning from injury. Mahli Beardman will also join the squad mid-series and could be in line to make his international debut.

India team news

Jasprit Bumrah returns to the India squad for the T20s, having missed the ODI series. It will be his first appearance in Australia since his devastating performances in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test series last summer.

There is only one change to the squad that won the Asia Cup last month, as Nitish Kumar Reddy takes the place of the injured Hardik Pandya.

Was Shreyas Iyer in the India T20 squad?

Iyer, who was seriously injured in the third ODI, was not named in the T20 squad for the series. It is not known when the 30-year-old will return to action following a laceration of the spleen. Suryakumar reported on Wednesday that India’s ODI vice-captain was in “stable” condition in hospital following the incident.

What is the Australia squad for the T20 series?

Mitchell Marsh (c), Sean Abbott (games 1-3), Xavier Bartlett, Mahli 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 (wk), Matthew Kuhnemann, Mitchell Owen, Josh Philippe, Tanveer Sangha, Matthew Short, Marcus Stoini

What is the India squad for 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 is a sellout. It is expected that there will be a late release of tickets for the game in Melbourne following an early sellout of the initial public allocation. Limited tickets available for the games in Hobart, the Gold Coast and Brisbane.

How to follow Australia and India’s T20 series

We’ll bring you our comprehensive text commentary stream service of the series, starting with the live build-up to the first match in Canberra from 5:45 GMT on Al Jazeera Sport on Wednesday.