The Australia vs India Vodafone Test Series has come to a close and we now head into the shorter form of the game. We start with the KFC T20 Internationals series. The first match in the 2 match series kicks off on Wednesday night from ANZ Stadium in Sydney. The series concludes on Friday night in Melbourne before the Commonwealth Bank One Day series kicks off with Australia, India and Sri Lanka taking part.

Australia have made a number of surprising decisions for their KFC T20 International squad, the most surprising is that of George Bailey being named captain. Cameron White has been dropped from the T20 side and replaced by his Melbourne Stars teammate. Bailey led Tasmania to Sheffield Shield and One Day titles recently, as well as the preliminary final of the T20 Big Bash last summer. However, he has had a lean 2012 KFC Big Bash tournament and is still recovering from a shoulder injury. Cameron White also had a bad time of it in the Big Bash and this appears to have led to him being dropped.

This decision by Invararity and the other selectors is a bit baffling to be honest. Would they have been better off giving a future Captain like Warner a go? At some stage Australia needs to plan for the future of the one day and T20 squad. I don’t think selecting a 29 year old with minimal international experience and an injury cloud was the best choice.

Another surprising inclusion was that of Brad Hogg, the 40 year old returning to the fold after a stellar KFC Big Bash campaign. Hogg has not played international cricket since his retirement in 2008 but doesn’t look to have lost much of his talent. Xavier Doherty will have a tough time getting into the team with Hogg in sensational form recently.

The Marsh brothers may get to play international cricket for the first time together with Mitchell selected in the T20 squad. Shaun has had a lean summer with the bat but this form of the game may just get his form back on track. The last time he played T20 he scored 99 off 52 balls opening for the Scorchers in the KFC Big Bash. Mitchell was unable to help the Scorchers win the Big Bash final despite scoring an unbeaten 77 batting first. That innings did not hurt Marsh’s chances of playing on Wednesday night.

Brett Lee was in fine form during the KFC Big Bash tournament which seems to have prolonged his international career for some time yet. Lee was a star performer for the Sixers as they won the inaugural Big Bash League over the weekend. Mitchell Starc played alongside Lee and was also outstanding. He earned himself a recall to the national side after he was left out of the 4th test squad for the Australia vs India Vodafone Test Series.

In news that may excite some people, namely those who think Haddin needs to go, Matthew Wade has finally been given a go in the green and gold. The young Melbourne Bushrangers wicketkeeper has been biding his time and seems to get better and better as time goes on. He has been killing it in both the Sheffield Shield and the shorter forms of the game and deserves his chance to test himself here. Tim Paine has often been touted as the heir apparent to Haddin but with rumours of Paine’s finger not healing as well as it should, Wade may get the nod longer term.

India have had a test series they will want to forget but the limited over format means a fresh start for them. They have a new look side heading into the T20 internationals and the Commonwealth Bank Series and they’ll want to get off to a flyer in Sydney. Sachin Tendulkar will be rested for the KFC T20 International matches and Virat Kohli will want to continue where he left off in Adelaide. A few new faces have been brought in with Suresh Raina, Praveen Kumar and Ravindra Jadeja likely to get a start. Rohit Sharma has long been held as the future of Indian cricket and he will get a chance to impress here as well. With Dravid and Laxman coming towards the end of their careers, it’s time for India to usher in a new era.

This should be a different test for the Aussies, they dominated the Australia vs India test series but T20′s are a whole new ball game. Despite this, they should still have enough to defeat an Indian side that is well down on confidence.

Likely Teams – KFC T20 International Australia vs India

Australia: George Bailey (capt), David Warner (vice-capt), Travis Birt/Shaun Marsh, David Hussey, Aaron Finch, Matthew Wade (wk), Dan Christian, Brad Hogg, Brett Lee, Clint McKay, James Faulkner/Mitchell Marsh (Additional squad – Xavier Doherty)

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain)(wk), Virender Sehwag (vice-capt), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Umesh Yadav, Praveen Kumar, Zaheer Khan (Additional squad – Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel, Sachin Tendulkar, Manoj Tiwary, Rahul Sharma, Vinay Kumar)

KFC T20 International – Australia vs India

sportsbanter.com.au Tip – Series Winner – Australia
Banter’s Best Bet – Australia vs India Series Winner – Australia @ $2.50
Banter’s Best Bet – First Match – Most Sixes – Australia @ $1.80
Banter’s Best Bet – Second Match – Highest Opening Partnership – Australia @ $1.80