The experienced pair of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have returned to India’s Twenty 20 International (T20I) squad after a long absence of fourteen months from the format for the three-match series against Afghanistan.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named a 16-member squad for the series, which will also be the last occasion of the India team competing in this format ahead of the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup.
Rohit Sharma has been named the captain of the team, with Virat Kohli also finding his place in the squad. Notably, their last T20I appearance was back on 10 November 2022, in India’s 10-wicket defeat to England at the T20 World Cup 2023 semi-final.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav – who led the side since India’s defeat – are injured and unavailable for selection.
Ruturaj Gaikwad has also not been picked as he is recuperating from an injury. Wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan, meanwhile, has not been selected, with Sanju Samson returning to the fore.
Mumbai allrounder Shivam Dube also gets another crack in T20Is following an impressive IPL 2023 where he was Chennai Super Kings’ spin-hitter in the middle overs.
In the bowling department, Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj have been rested keeping in mind their workloads ahead of the upcoming five-Test series at home against England. In their absence, the trio of Mukesh Kumar, Avesh Khan and Arshdeep Singh will comprise the pace battery.
Shreyas Iyer and Ravindra Jadeja, who was vice-captain during the South Africa T20Is that India drew 1-1, were also dropped from the squad.
India’s three-match series will commence in Mohali’s PCA IS Bindra Stadium on 11 January, before the entourage moves to Indore’s Holkar Cricket Stadium for the second match. The final game will be played in Bengaluru’s M Chinnaswamy Stadium on 17 January.
Following the three T20Is against Afghanistan, India would host England from January 25 to March 11, after which the players will disperse to join their respective IPL teams for the 2024 season, which will conclude only a couple of weeks before the T20 World Cup begins on June 1.
India’s Squad for Afghanistan T2oIs:
Rohit Sharma (Captain), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Tilak Varma, Rinku Singh, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.
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