On Sunday, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the return of hitman Rohit Sharma and the fast bowler Mohammed Shami to the Indian T20 squad for the 5-match series against New Zealand team.
Unexpectedly, Rishabh Pant is the only wicketkeeper, with the selectors not considering Sanju Samson in the squad of 16 members. The inclusion of Rohit comes at the expense of Sanju Samson.
Captain Virat Kohli will lead Team India in the five-match series against New Zealand. The tour will start with the T20 series from the 24th of January. India is also going to play 3-ODIs and 2 Tests against the Black Caps.
Jasprit Bumrah, India’s main fast bowler, who made a successful comeback to the team after recovering from injury in the two T20Is has also been included along with opener Shikhar Dhawan.
After failing the necessary fitness tests in Mumbai on Saturday, the all-rounder Hardik Pandya of the Indian A cricket team pulled out of the team for the New Zealand tour. The selectors had initially selected him in the squad without testing him in domestic cricket
In place of Pandya, Vijay Shankar, the captain of the Tamil Nadu team, has been sent to India A team against New Zealand. They will play two 4-day Tests, three list A-games and two 50-over warm-up games against the Black Caps.
The four spinners, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Yuzvendra Chahal have been retained by India. KL Rahul will also be in the squad.
In the recently concluded three-match series against Sri Lanka, the Indian T-20 team showed good form by winning it 2-0. Virat Kohli’s team will now play Australians in a 3-ODI series from the 14th of January.
