India vs Australia: Hyderabad won't host 5th T20I due to Telangana elections, Bengaluru likely to replace - Report

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Hyderabad reportedly won't be able to host the 5th T20I on December 3 due to Telangana elections and have informed BCCI, who are considering Bengaluru as the replacement venue with three weeks left for the game, reported Cricbuzz.

A Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) official confirmed the development to the cricket website adding that Telangana Police won't be able to provide enough security as December 3 is the counting day following polling day on November 30.

India vs Australia five-match T20 series gets underway in Visakhapatnam four days after the ICC World Cup 2023 final in Ahmedabad. The subsequent three matches are to be played in Thiruvananthapuram (November 26), Guwahati (November 28) and Nagpur (December 1).

A day earlier PTI reported that T20 captain Hardik Pandya will be rested for the entire series and is likely to comeback for another bilateral T20 series in South Africa from December 10. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Suryakumar Yadav are being considered as the captain for the home series.

Ruturaj Gaikwad successfully led the team to the Asian Games 2023 gold medal in Hangzhou while Suryakumar was named the vice-captain of the T20 team back in August. None of the first-team players, especially those in the World Cup squad, didn't participate in the Asian Games. The squad for the India vs Australia series is likely to be announced after the semifinal match in Mumbai.

The India vs Australia T20 series is the beginning of the build-up to the T20 World Cup in the West Indies and the USA next year. Likes of Virat Kohli, and Rohit Sharma are unlikely to be part of the T20 series but neither of them has taken retirement from the T20 format at the international level.

Both of them are in fine form during the World Cup 2023 with Virat Kohli slamming close to 550 runs while Rohit Sharma has neared the 450-run mark. Sharma's explosive start during the tournament has been key in taking pressure off the middle-order.