Gautam Gambhir faces online backlash from fans for excluding star India pacer, his name is…

New Delhi: Arshdeep Singh was once again left out as India took on Australia in the opening T20I of the five-match series on Wednesday. At Canberra’s Manuka Oval, Harshit Rana was chosen ahead of Arshdeep India’s leading wicket-taker in the format.

In the recently concluded ODI series, the left-arm pacer benched in the third and final ODI against Australia. Fans on X (formerly Twitter) were furious by his exclusion again on Wednesday and criticized Gautam Gambhir, the head coach of India.

Arshdeep Singh should be in the XI in every match,he has won us a world cup.

— Priyesh Yadav (@Priyeshwrites) October 29, 2025

Does Gautam Gambhir have a problem with Arshdeep Singh, the country's leading wicket-taker who is still not getting consistent opportunities?

— Vipin Tiwari (@Vipintiwari952) October 29, 2025

First T20I between India and Australia was abondoned due to rain

Team India skipper Suryakumar Yadav looked in good touch with the bat, but continuous rain spoiled the contest, leading to the abandonment of the first T20 International against Australia in Canberra on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill also played an impressive knock (37 not out off 20), Suryakumar also played a composed knock before smashing eye-catching strokes to reach 39 off 24 balls. The pair put together a 62-run stand in just 35 balls for the second wicket, and both seemed set for big scores before rain brought an early end to their charge.

Suryakumar Yadav looked in good touch with the bat

Suryakumar, who had struggled for form in 2025 with a strike rate below 110 and just 100 runs to his name, reminded everyone why he was once the world’s No. 1 T20 batter by effortlessly pulling a Josh Hazlewood delivery over the square leg boundary.

He held on to the strike until reaching 20, then shifted gears in Nathan Ellis 10th over, first playing an uppish square cut, then a crisp off-drive, and finally hitting the ball over mid-wicket for six, just before rain played spoilsport.

India managed to score 97 runs in 9.4 overs

India managed to play 9.4 overs before rain stopped play twice, First after 4.4 over and then again after 9.4 overs. The damp conditions also made the ball slippery, making it hard for the Australian bowlers to maintain their grip.

Earlier, Abhishek Sharma (19 off 14) set the tone with three boundaries off Xavier Bartlett’s delivery but misread a slower back-of-the-hand delivery from Nathan Ellis, ending up hitting it straight to mid-off after failing to get enough elevation.

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