Picking an all-time India-Australia playing 11 in T20Is ft. Rohit Sharma, Glenn Maxwell

Just like in the Test and ODI formats, India and Australia are two of the top sides in T20I cricket as well. Looking at the current ICC men's T20I team rankings, the Men in Blue are first with 268 rating points, while the Aussies are in second position with 259 rating points.

Team India is the joint-must successful side in the T20 World Cup, having lifted the ICC title two times. They won the inaugural edition in South Africa in 2007 and the most recent one held in the West Indies and the USA in 2024. West Indies and England are the other two sides with two T20 World Cup triumphs. Australia were crowned winners in 2021 and finished runners-up in the 2010 edition.

There have been some fantastic individual performances from both Indian and Australian players in the T20I format over the years. On that note, we try and put together an all-time India-Australia playing XI in T20Is.

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Top-order: Rohit Sharma, David Warner, Virat Kohli

Rohit Sharma and David Warner would be the dynamic opening pair in the India-Australia combined T20I playing XI, while Virat Kohli would be the No. 3 batter. Rohit, Warner and Kohli would make for quite a formidable top three in T20Is.

Rohit is the all-time leading run-getter in T20Is. He ended his career in the format with 4,231 runs from 159 matches at an average of 32.05 and a strike rate of 140.89, with the aid of five hundreds and 32 fifties.

Warner is the leading run-getter for Australia in the T20I format. In 110 matches, the southpaw scored 3,277 runs at an average of 33.43 and a strike rate of 142.47, with one hundred and 28 half-centuries.

Kohli is second on the list of India's leading T20I run-getters. He ended his career with 4,188 runs in 125 games at an average of 48.69 and a strike rate of 137.04, with one century and 38 fifties. The 36-year-old is the all-time leading run-getter in the T20 World Cup, with 1,292 runs from 33 innings at an average of 58.72.

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Middle-order & all-rounders: Suryakumar Yadav, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, MS Dhoni (c & wk)

Team India’s T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav (Image Credits: Getty Images)

Current Team India T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav would bat at No. 4 in the all-time India-Australia T20I playing XI. The 34-year-old has smashed 2,570 runs in 79 T20Is at an average of 40.15 and a strike rate of 167.53, with the aid of four hundreds and 21 half-centuries. On his day, he can be unstoppable.

Marcus Stoinis and Glenn Maxwell narrowly pipped Yuvraj Singh and Hardik Pandya as the all-rounders in the combined T20I XI. Stoinis has 1,245 runs to his name from 74 T20Is at a strike rate of 148.56. With his medium pace, he has claimed 45 scalps, averaging 24.24. Maxwell has struck 2,664 runs in 116 matches at a strike rate of 154.97, with five tons. He has claimed 43 scalps with his off spin.

The legendary MS Dhoni would be the captain and the wicketkeeper in the combined India-Australia T20I playing XI. He led the team to victory in the inaugural T20 World Cup in 2007. In 98 T20Is, he scored 1,617 runs at an average of 37.60 and a strike rate of 126.13. With the gloves in hand, Dhoni took 57 catches and effected 34 stumpings apart from pulling off some crucial run-outs.

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Bowlers: Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood, Arshdeep Singh, Jasprit Bumrah

Australia’s star leg-spinner Adam Zampa (Image Credits: Getty Images)

The trio of Jasprit Bumrah, Josh Hazlewood and Arshdeep Singh would be the pacers in the India vs Australia combined T20I playing XI, while Adam Zampa would be the frontline spinner.

Bumrah has 89 wickets to his name in 70 matches at an average of 17.74 and an economy rate of 6.27, with a best of 3-7. Hazlewood narrowly pipped Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins in the combined India-Australia T20I XI. In 52 matches, he has claimed 67 scalps at an average of 22.10 and an economy rate of 7.49.

Arshdeep would provide variety and quality to the attack with his left-arm pacers. He is India's leading wicket-taker in the T20I format, having claimed 97 wickets in 61 games at an average of 17.90 and an economy rate of 8.24, with a best of 4-9.

Seasoned leg-spinner Adam Zampa would complete the strong bowling attack. The 32-year-old is Australia's leading wicket-taker in T20Is, with 117 wickets from 95 matches at an impressive average of 21 and an economy rate of 7.16. He has one five-fer and two four-fers to his credit, with a best of 5-19.