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Former Indian cricketers Irfan Pathan, Parthiv Patel, and Abhinav Mukund have picked skipper Suryakumar Yadav as the leading run-scorer in the upcoming T20I series against Australia (Via Star Sports Instagram handle). Team India will take on Australia in a blockbuster five-match T20I series, starting with the opening game in Canberra on Wednesday, 29 October.Surya has been in woeful form in T20Is this year, averaging a dismal 11.11 in 12 outings at a strike rate of only 102.56. The 35-year-old is yet to score a half-century in T20Is in 2025.Despite his underwhelming run, Team India has been on a winning run, triumphing in 11 out of 12 T20Is this year.When it came to picking the leading wicket-taker for the series, the three former cricketers differed. Pathan picked ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah to finish atop the wicket-taking charts, while also adding Arshdeep Singh to the mix.Parthiv also chose Bumrah as the highest wicket-taker, but Mukund went for a spin-bowling option in Kuldeep Yadav.Finally, Mukund and Parthiv had no hesitation in picking Abhishek Sharma to be the highest six-hitter in the series. The youngster has been in swashbuckling form in T20Is, averaging almost 50 at a strike rate of 208.80 in 12 matches this year.Abhishek has smashed an incredible 60 maximums in his 23 T20I innings, resulting in a career strike rate of over 196.Irfan Pathan predicts scoreline for AUS vs IND 2025 T20I seriesIrfan Pathan backed India to win the upcoming T20I series in Australia by a commanding 4-1 margin. The Men in Blue have been in phenomenal T20I form, winning 24 out of their last 27 outings since their unbeaten run in the 2024 T20 World Cup.Meanwhile, the hosts have been equally brilliant in T20Is, winning their last four bilateral series and 12 out of their previous 13 matches. Yet, in recent T20I meetings between the sides, Team India has come out on top more often than not.India have won seven out of their last eight T20Is against Australia, and the most recent three bilateral series. The Men in Yellow last won a T20I series against India in early 2019.The upcoming series is a battle between the top two-ranked T20I teams in world cricket.
