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Zampa in as Kohli elects to bowl first

Aussies to bat first as leg-spinner comes in at expense of Nathan Coulter-Nile for opening T20I against India

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Australia have drafted in leg-spinner Adam Zampa to quell the might of India as skipper Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bowl in the first Gillette T20 International at the Gabba.

Zampa's inclusion at the expense of Nathan Coulter-Nile is the only change to the Australian XI that lost the rain-affected one-off 'T10' to South Africa last week by 21 runs, their fourth straight loss in the shortest format.

Ashton Agar is the other member of Australia's 13-player squad to miss selection.

Having revealed their XII on Tuesday's match eve, India lopped Yuzvendra Chahal from their side meaning they'll have two spin-bowling options (wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and left-armer Krunal Pandya) at their disposal alongside quicks Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Khaleel Ahmed.

Kohil heads a star-studded batting unit featuring the likes of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma.

India are kicking off their two-month long tour of Australia with the first of three T20s in Brisbane on Wednesday evening, with matches in Melbourne on Friday and in Sydney on Sunday to follow before the Domain Test series begins in Adelaide on December 6.

Australia captain Aaron Finch is confident Australia's redefined approach to aggressive cricket will pack a punch when they welcome India to the Gabba.

But Australia need to arrest their losing slump in quick fashion. Finch's side was humbled by South Africa 2-1 in the recent Gillette ODI series and one-off Twenty20, with Proteas' captain Faf du Plessis describing the hosts as "tame" to local journalists on his return.

Australia's short form captain disagreed with that perception but admitted South Africa's dominance had made it difficult for the home side to assert themselves this summer.

"South Africa were all over us from the start of that series with the ball," Finch said on Tuesday.

Just five wins and a draw – including three T20 wins against Zimbabwe and the UAE – have come from Australia's 21 games across all formats since the ill-fated tour of South Africa.

India have won 11 of their past 12 T20Is, including eight from nine away from home. The lone defeat was against England in Cardiff, in a series they won 2-1. They are ranked No.2 in T20Is by the ICC.

Star opener Rohit expects the Aussies to provide a stern challenge but insists India are well-equipped to handle local conditions.

"It is challenging for all our batsmen but I think most of our guys have come to Australia before, so they understand the conditions," Rohit said on Tuesday.

"Of course their bowling attack will challenge us as a batting unit in whatever format, but we are prepared for that."

Gillette T20s v India 

November 21: The Gabba

November 23: MCG

November 25: SCG

Australia T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Alex Carey, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Chris Lynn, Glenn Maxwell, Ben McDermott, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Marcus Stoinis, Andrew Tye, Adam Zampa.

India T20 squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.