Follow UsAfter the One-Day International (ODI) series, the attention shifts to the five-match T20 International (T20I) series between India and Australia. This will be India's first T20I since clinching the Asia Cup title in September.
The star of that tournament was Abhishek Sharma, who hit 314 runs in seven innings. Former India head coach Ravi Shastri has warned Australia against the batter, who strikes at 196.08 in T20Is, saying that they do not want him out there for too long, given his ability to take the game away from them early.
"He's a gun T20 player. If he's in for a while, there's guaranteed entertainment. Irrespective of whether you're Australian or Indian, you'll enjoy it. He has the ability to take the game away from you. You don't want him out there too long because he can create chaos," Shastri told Fox Cricket.
This will be the first time Abhishek will take on Australia in T20Is. He will be up against a relatively inexperienced bowling attack, which has further been depleted with Mitchell Starc's retirement. Nevertheless, the Aussies boast of top bowlers like Josh Hazlewood, Xavier Bartlett, Nathan Ellis, Ben Dwarshuis and more.
"His [Abhishek] preparation, his belief in his own ability, the range of shots that he has, and then the mindset to go out there and back himself from ball one," said Shastri.
"From the get-go, he'll go after the bowling. That's where he can be extremely dangerous, very explosive, and quietly confident about his own ability," he added.
India lost the ODI series 2-1, but will look to turn things around in the T20Is, which get underway in Canberra on October 29 (Wednesday).