2 Players likely to be dropped from India's playing XI for the 1st T20I against Australia

India are to begin their highly anticipated tour Down Under with a three-match T20I series, starting at the Gabba on the 21st of November, followed by the MCG on the 23rd and the SCG on the 25th. The squad for the series was already announced last month and comprises of the following players:

India Twenty20 squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed

While the squad does feature some familiar names, it also has its fair share of youngsters in the form of the middle order and an interesting quartet of spinners. Here is a look at two players that are likely to be dropped from the XI that played against the Windies in the last T20I.

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#1 Manish Pandey

KL Rahul is likely to get a nod ahead of Manish Pandey

With Kohli returning to the side after being rested during the T20I series against the Windies, only one of KL Rahul and Manish Pandey will be able to play in the XI. In such a scenario, KL Rahul is likely to get the nod ahead of Pandey who is likely to sit out.

Manish Pandey's T20 record has been largely unimpressive this year. His 648 runs have come at a handy average of 32.40 over 33 games but at a strike rate of 117.17. With Australian pitches likely to be flat and batting heavy, Pandey's conservative style of play may just hand India a disadvantage.

In contrast, KL Rahul has been quite impressive with 956 runs in 24 games, with a phenomenal strike rate of 159.06. In addition to this, Rahul has even struck a superb century against England earlier this year and has displayed the fact that he has the ability to switch between multiple gears.

In such a case, Manish Pandey is likely to sit out.

#2 Washington Sundar

Despite emerging as a teenage sensation, Sundar hasn't found his space in international cricket just yet

India has selected four spinners in the form on Chahal, Kuldeep, Sundar, and Krunal Pandya, with Pandya offering some hard-hitting abilities down the order. Chahal and Kuldeep have already displayed their talents by becoming a permanent part of India's ODI setup.

While Chahal has 30 wickets this year at an average of 25.79, Kuldeep has certainly surpassed him with 41 wickets from a similar number of games, at a stunning average of 18.14. Chahal and Kuldeep are likely to get a nod ahead of the other spinners with perhaps Krunal Pandya replacing either of them to reinforce the lower order batting at some stage.

Krunal Pandya has shown his ability with the bat this year, striking at 148.12 with an average of 27.33 in 65 games. Sundar meanwhile has only struck the ball at a meagre strike rate of 122.79 in comparison. With the lack of Dhoni's experience in the lower order, India will use Krunal as an all-rounder, meaning Sundar is likely to get dropped.