Raina returns as IND announce 15-man squad for ODI series vs NZ
- Suresh Raina, who was rested for the Zimbabwe tour in June, has returned to the ODI squad.
- India has announced the 15-member squad for the first three ODIs against the Kiwis.
- The team will be led by India's regular limited-overs skipper, MS Dhoni.
FollowRaina was rested from the ODI series against Zimbabwe in June. However, senior off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, pacer Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were given a break.
Medium pacer Jasprit Bumrah, batsman Mandeep Singh and Kedar Jadhav were included in the squad announced by new Chairman of selectors M S K Prasad after a meeting of the Committee at New Delhi.
The team, to be captained by MS Dhoni, retained batsman Manish Pandey, while paceman Umesh Yadav was brought back into the team after missing the Zimbabwe tour.
The team had no place for left-handed opener Gautam Gambhir, who had forced his way back into the Test side after some solid knocks in the domestic circuit.
Prasad said Gambhir's name was discussed but "we needed continuity and we groomed Mandeep as an opener. He did extremely well against Australia A Down Under."
The selection committee chief said that the trio of Ashwin, Shami and Jadeja was rested keeping in mind the long home season that awaits India, where the Indians are scheduled to play 13 Tests. All three are regulars in India's Test squad.
The first match of the series will be held at Dharamsala (October 16), followed by games in Delhi (October 20), Mohali (October 23), Ranchi (October 26), and Visakhapatnam (October 29).
India's 15-member squad: MS Dhoni (c & wk), Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina,Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Jayant Yadav, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Dhawal Kulkarni, Umesh Yadav, Mandeep Singh, Kedar Jadhav.
