Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra and batsman Dinesh Karthik, along with opener Shikhar Dhawan, have been included in the India squad for the three-match Twenty20 International (T20) against Australia.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee has named the Indian Cricket Team for the three-match Twenty20 International series against Australia," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a statement. 

Thirty-eight-year-old Nehra made his last international appearance in the shortest format against England in February. Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu cricketer Dinesh Karthik will be figuring for the first time in this format since he played against West Indies in July. 

Dhawan, who could not be part of the One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia due to his ailing wife will feature in the T20Is.

Opener Ajinkya Rahane along with pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav have been rested for the T20I series. 

India will host Australia in Ranchi, Guwahati and Hyderabad for the three-match T20I series. 

India's T20I squad includes Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (Vice Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra and Axar Patel.