Indian squad for the Australian tour to be picked on December 19

MS Dhoni will likely be retained as captain

The Indian team for next month’s tour of Australia, is set to be announced on the 19th of December, according to BCCI sources. The men in blue are set to play in a brief series, comprising of ODIs and T20Is.

The Indian team’s limited over form hasn’t been the best off late, as they recently lost at home to South Africa, 3-2 in the ODI series and 2-0 in the T20Is. Ever since that defeat, Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s captaincy has been under scrutiny, and there were even rumours about appointing Virat Kohli as captain across all formats. However, the wicket-keeper batsman is set to retain his role as a captain for the tour down under.

India, who are currently ranked number 2 in ODIs, are set to play 5 One Day matches along with 3 T20Is, starting January 12th. Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Canberra and Sydney will host the ODI matches, while Melbourne and Sydney play host to the Twenty-20 matches.

The battle between the two rivals is expected to be even, as Australia, who are the current world champions, have a new look team, after the retirements of Michael Clarke, Brad Haddin and Mitchell Johnson.

Their new skipper Steven Smith has already showed glimpses of his calibre, as a worthy captain across all formats, and will be keen on inflicting defeat on the visiting Indian side. The Indians on the other hand, have a hard task of forming a balanced squad in the limited over formats, and will also be wary of the bouncy Australian pitches.

They will have to overcome odds and sort out priorities, after their agonising loss to South Africa in the shorter formats. The success of team India largely depends on the form of their captain cool, MS Dhoni, who is eyeing redemption in form, ahead of the crucial T20 World Cup in India, in March.