India set to host Australia for five T20Is in December

India are set to host Australia for a five-match T20I series starting December 9. All five games in the 11-day tour will be played in Mumbai, with the DY Patil Stadium hosting the first two games before the action shifts to the Brabourne Stadium for the next three. The series recommences both teams' lead-ups to the Women's T20 World Cup next February.

For Australia, this could be the first series where they will miss regular captain Meg Lanning - who opted to take an indefinite mental-health break - following their Commonwealth Games title win, which was where these two teams last met. With Rachael Haynes announcing her retirement, Australia don't currently have a captain. Alyssa Healy was named vice-captain and with Lanning's return still not confirmed, Healy could take over the reins for this tour.

The Australian players will come into the series on the back of the Women's Big Bash League, which will conclude on November 26. While some of the Indian players including Pooja Vastrakar and Jemimah Rodrigues decided to play in the WBBL, the likes of Harmanpreet Kaur and Smriti Mandhana pulled out to manage their increasing workload.

The series will mark India's return to the international circuit after their win against Sri Lanka to complete a successful Asia Cup campaign in October. They are scheduled to tour South Africa in the second half of January for a tri-series featuring West Indies, in the build-up to the Women's T20 World Cup 2023.

Australia last toured India for a limited-overs series in 2018 where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 in ODIs before overcoming India twice in the tri-nation women's T20 series.