India announce home series schedule against Australia and South Africa

Suryakumar Yadav, who scored a match-winning half-century against West Indies on Tuesday, has moved to second place in T20 rankings. Image Credit: AFP

Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday announced the schedule for the upcoming Australia and South Africa’s tour of India, commencing on September 20.

India’s international home season 2022-23 will commence with a three-match T20I series against Australia in September and will be followed by a three-match T20I and ODI series against South Africa.

Mohali will host the first T20I against Australia on September 20 with Nagpur and Hyderabad hosting the second and third respectively on 23 and 25.

World Cup preparations

Meanwhile, the series against South Africa will begin in Thiruvananthapuram on September 28. The second T20I will be played on October 2, Gandhi Jayanti, to mark the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi at Guwahati, followed by the last T20I at Indore on October 4.

The action will then shift to Lucknow on October 6 where the ODI series will get under way. Ranchi and Delhi will host the second and third ODI on 9 and 11 respectively.

The six T20Is against top teams like Australia and South Africa at home will serve as a good preparation for India before the ICC T20 World Cup.

Striking distance

Meanwhile, Suryakumar Yadav is within striking distance of reaching the No 1 spot in the ICC T20 rankings after the 31-year-old Indian has given some fine performances in the ongoing five-match series against the West Indies.

The ICC released its weekly update of the rankings on Wednesday and Yadav surged three spots to second overall on the T20I list for batters, with Pakistan skipper Babar Azam now just two rating points ahead of the in-form right-hander.

While Babar Azam has 818 rating points, Suryakumar is placed second on the list with 816 points, way ahead of another Pakistan’s Mohammad Rizwan, who is on 794.

Suryakumar only made his international debut at the start of last year and his rapid rise has come on the back of a century against England in Nottingham last month and a half-century against the West Indies on Tuesday, where he clobbered a 44-ball 76 in a winning cause in the third T20I.

Promoted up the order to open the batting alongside skipper Rohit Sharma for the first time during this tour of the Caribbean, Yadav has been a shining light for India and his 111 runs at a strike rate in excess of 168 through the first three matches of the series has helped the Asian country claim a 2-1 series lead.

It’s also boosted Yadav’s chances of making the trip to Australia for the ICC T20 World Cup later this year and if he can overtake Babar Azam and claim the No 1 T20I ranking then his case will almost be insurmountable.