Overview
- First T20I starts at 7 p.m. IST at Barabati Stadium, opening a five-game set on December 9, 11, 14, 17 and 19.
- Suryakumar Yadav captains with Shubman Gill as vice-captain, and both Gill and Hardik Pandya are fit to return.
- Jasprit Bumrah needs one wicket to reach 100 in T20Is, which would make him the first Indian with 100 wickets in each international format.
- Selection and tactics remain in focus, including the wicketkeeper choice between Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma and how India deploy Bumrah’s overs.
- Pitch reports flag a newly relaid red‑soil surface with bounce and likely dew for chasing sides, while police arrested four people over ticket scalping and boosted security.