IND vs ENG: Shami returns, Samson picked over Pant as BCCI announces India squad for England T20I series
The biggest news from the squad announcement is the return of pacer Mohammed Shami, who has not played an international match since the ODI World Cup 2023 Final due to an ankle injury.
FollowThe Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) selection committee has picked the 16-member India squad for the upcoming five-match T20I series against the touring England team, with the opening match scheduled to take place on January 22 at the Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata.
Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Men in Blue in the T20 leg of the white-ball series against Jos Buttler-led The Three Lions. The biggest news from the squad announcement is the return of pacer Mohammed Shami, who has not played an international match since the ODI World Cup 2023 Final due to an ankle injury. The veteran pacer played domestic cricket in the Ranji Trophy and Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy for Bengal after returning to competitive cricket after a year hiatus in November last year. He played the pre-quarterfinal against the defending champions Haryana in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, where Bengal lost by 72 runs.
Shami was supposed to be added to India's squad for the final two Tests of the forgettable Border-Gavaskar Trophy, where they failed to retain the title after losing the series 1-3 to Australia. But, the swelling on his knees further delayed his return to the Indian team.
Another big development is that Sanju Samson has been picked as the first-choice wicketkeeper with Dhruv Jurel as the second-choice for the role, resulting in Rishabh Pant missing out on a place in the squad for the T20I series against England. In the last T20I series against South Africa, Samson scripted history by becoming the first Indian batter to score two consecutive centuries in the format at the international level.
The young all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who registered his maiden international century in the Boxing Day Test at MCG, too has been included in the squad. Yashasvi Jaiswal has been rested from the T20I series against England as selectors picked Abhishek Sharma for the opener’s role. Jaiswal is likely to return to action for the ODI series against England. Riyan Parag was not included as he is currently nursing an injury.
Arshdeep Singh is expected to lead the pace attack alongside Mohammed Shami and Harshit Rana. Rinku Singh, Ravi Bishnoi and Varun Chakravarthy have retained their spot in the T20Is. India have added two spin-bowling all-rounders in Axar Patel and Washington Sundar to the 16-member squad.
India T20I squad:
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Reddy, Mohammed Shami, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy and Washington Sundar
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