'Go well buddy' - Ravichandran Ashwin's special message for India's stand-in T20I captain Suryakumar Yadav

India will look to bounce back in the upcoming five-match T20I series at home versus Australia after suffering a soul-crushing defeat in the finals of the ODI World Cup 2023 against the same opponents on Sunday.

Most Indian players in the World Cup squad have been rested for the T20I rubber. Suryakumar Yadav, who played seven matches in the marquee event, will be in charge of the Indian team for the first time. Hardik Pandya was likely to lead the team in this series but suffered an ankle injury during the first half of the World Cup and has been sidelined indefinitely.

Suryakumar was the obvious choice to lead a team comprising talented but inexperienced players. The Mumbai batter received words of encouragement from Ravichandran Ashwin, who was also a part of India's World Cup squad and played just one game. The veteran off-spinner posted a story on his official Instagram handle and congratulated the No. 1 ranked T20I batter on being named as the captain of the 'Men in Blue'.

"Go well buddy, it's an honour to lead the country," said Ravichandran Ashwin on his Instagram story.

The promising Ruturaj Gaikwad, who led India to the Gold medal at the Asian Games, has been named as Suryakumar's deputy for the first three games. Shreyas Iyer will join the team for the last two T20Is and replace Gaikwad as the vice-captain. Also, wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan and fast bowler Prasidh Krishna will take the field against Australia after being a part of the World Cup squad. A fit-again Axar Patel is also back in the side.

The first of the five T20Is will take place in Visakhapatnam on Thursday, November 23. The international teams will now put more emphasis on the shortest format of the game as the T20 World Cup is scheduled to be held in the West Indies and USA next year.