India vs Australia: KL Rahul names vice-captain, Varun Chakravarthy bags maiden call as BCCI announces 18-man squad

KL Rahul was named the vice-captain as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced Team India's 18-man squad – that will be led by Virat Kohli across formats – for their upcoming tour of Australia.

India and Australia are set to lock horns in a full-ledged limited-overs and Test series, starting in November, soon after the underway Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 ends in the UAE. The four-Test series will be a part of the 2019-21 World Test Championship.

India's limited-overs vice-captain Rohit Sharma was not named in the squad as is currently sidelined due to an injury and the BCCI statement stated that Rohit and fast bowler Ishant Sharma's progress is being monitored. It is a great opportunity for Rahul, who was dropped following India's West Indies tour in 2019.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee, led by former spinner Sunil Joshi, met via video-conference on Monday and picked the squad that also included Hardik Pandya (limited-overs), who has not played for India since September 2019.

In the T20I squad, the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Sanju Samson have made their way, while Shubman Gill and Manish Pandey have been picked for the 50-over format. As net bowlers and covers during a case of an injury, four additional bowlers will be travelling with the Indian team - Kamlesh Nagarkoti, Kartik Tyagi, Ishan Porel, and T. Natarajan.

According to the provisional schedule, India's Down Under tour will kickstart in Sydney. A few limited-overs matches are also expected to be played in Canberra. The first Test between India and Australia is set to begin on Dec. 17 at the Adelaide Oval. The iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will be hosting the Boxing Day Test, with Adelaide as the back-up venue. The third and fourth Tests are scheduled to take place in Sydney and Brisbane.

Team India's 18-man squad for Australia tour 2020-21:

India's T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vc & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy

India's ODI squad: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vc & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur

India's Test squad: Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vc), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohammed Siraj