India veteran MS Dhoni was left out of the squad for the T20 series in the tour of Australia in what was the biggest surprise in the various squads announced by the selectors on Friday.
India named their squad for the upcoming T20 series against the West Indies along with the Test and T20 outfits for the year-end tour of Australia.
Dhoni’s name does not feature in the 16-man squad for the three-match T20 series against the Aussies as well as the West Indies with Rishabh Pant named as the wicketkeeper. Dinesh Karthik too has been named in the squad and will provide a back-up to the wicketkeeper’s role. All-rounders Washington Sundar and Krunal Pandya have been named in the T20 squad too.
While Karthik features in the T20 squad, he has been dropped from the Test squad which features Pant along with Parthiv Patel as the reserve wicketkeeper. Wriddhiman Saha misses out on the tour as he continues his rehabilitation for a long-term injury.
Team for Four Test match series against Australia announced
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, R Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Shami, Ishant, Umesh, Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Team for three T20I match series against Australia announced.
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit (vc), Shikhar, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish, DK, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel
Team for three T20I match series against Australia announced.
— BCCI (@BCCI) October 26, 2018
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit (vc), Shikhar, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish, DK, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel
There were plenty of other surprises in the Test squad for the Australia series with opener Murali Vijay making a return to the side after being dropped in England. Shikhar Dhawan continues to miss out with young gun Prithvi Shaw and KL Rahul providing the other opening options. Middle-order batsman Hanuma Vihari has been included in the Test squad as well. Rohit Sharma, meanwhile, has made a return to India’s Test outfit despite not being picked for the tour of England and the visit of West Indies.
Wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been picked in the Test outfit despite being dropped after just one game in the series against England.
For the upcoming T20 series against the West Indies, skipper Virat Kohli has been granted a rest with Rohit Sharma set to lead the side in his absence. Spinner Shahbaz Nadeem is the surprise call up for the West Indies series.
The three-match T20 series between India and the Windies gets underway on November 4 at Kolkata. India are slated to play three T20s, four Tests and three ODIs on their tour of Australia which gets underway in November. The ODI squad for the Australia series will be named at a later date.
INDIA T20 SQUAD FOR WEST INDIES SERIES
Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem
INDIA T20 SQUAD FOR AUSTRALIA TOUR
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.
INDIA TEST SQUAD FOR AUSTRALIA TOUR
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
