Mumbai: Rohit Sharma will captain a new look 16-man squad for the three match T20I series against New Zealand starting 17 November, BCCI announced on Tuesday.
Rohit’s fellow opener KL Rahul will act as the vice-captain. The series will also see the beginning of newly appointed Head Coach Rahul Dravid’s tenure who would take it over from Ravi Shastri.
Virat Kohli, whose stint as India’s T20I captain came to an end after the wrapping of the sides campaign ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, has been given a rest.
The squad has been given a revamp with a few fresh faces in the unit with the most prominent being the presence of youngster Ruturaj Gaikwad, the highest run-getter in the Indian Premier League(IPL) this season and the top wicket-taker Harshal Patel. Venkatesh Iyer, who impressed everyone with his swashbuckling batting and rolling in a few overs with the ball has also been included with the management sighting him as a probable contender for the all-rounder’s slot.
Venkatesh’s inclusion in matchday squad might also get boosted as all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who after being ravaged with injuries failed to impress much in the T20 World Cup has been dropped.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal made his return to the squad alongside seamer Mohammed Siraj, who has played a few T20Is in the past. Frontline seamers like Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja have also been given much-needed after a hectic schedule of last couple of months.
India will begin the campaign against New Zealand on November 17 in the opening in Jaipur before coming to Ranchi on November 19 while the final match of the series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on November 21.
India’s squad for the T20I series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj
