DUBAI: India and Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) wicketkeeper-batsman KL Rahul is confident to take the 'responsibility and challenge' as vice-captain of the Indian white-ball side for the Australian tour next month.
Indian selectors on Monday announced the squad for ODIs, T20Is, and Tests against Australia.
Rahul got the reward of his ongoing performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) as he has scored the highest runs in this season so far. He also led his side KXIP and under his captaincy, Punjab are currently placed at the fourth spot in the points table and are looking to get into the playoffs.
"It is a very happy and proud moment. I was not expecting it, but I am very happy. I am ready for responsibility and challenge and I will try to do my best for my team as much as I can," KXIP's official website quoted Rahul as saying.
In 12 games so far, Rahul has accumulated 595 runs with an average of 59.50 including a ton and five fifties.
"I am looking forward to the coming tour but the next 2-3 weeks before that are very important. The next 2-3 months will be very important. I am thinking about one day at a time, not much forward at the moment," he further added.
India T20I squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy.
India ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-captain & wicket-keeper), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur.
India Test squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Mayank Agarwal, Prithvi Shaw, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (vice-captain), Hanuma Vihari, Shubman Gill, Wriddhiman Saha (wicket-keeper), Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd. Shami, Umesh Yadav, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, R. Ashwin, Mohd. Siraj.
India and Australia will play three ODIs, three T20Is, and four Tests against each other. The Test series will be a part of the World Test Championship.
India and Australia are currently at the number one and two spots respectively in the World Test Championship standings.
The last time India toured Australia, the Virat Kohli-led side managed to win their first Test series Down Under.