The Rohit Sharma-led Indian Cricket team is all set to square off against West Indies in their upcoming T20I series later this month. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced a 18-member squad for the 5-match series which misses three key players.
The Indian cricket board had earlier announced a squad for the ODI matches which will be played before the T20Is. Most of the key players of the Indian team are rested for the ODI’s. The selectors were keen to field the strongest possible team in the T20I matches with the ICC T20 World Cup in sight. However, the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Virat Kohli, and Yuzvendra Chahal have not been called up for the five T20Is.
Rohit Sharma (C), I Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, D Hooda, S Iyer, D Karthik, R Pant, H Pandya, R Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, R Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, B Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
*Inclusion of KL Rahul & Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 14, 2022
It is reported that Kohli has asked the BCCI for a break, while Bumrah is rested after playing in all three formats during the ongoing tour of England. Chahal, too has been rested for the T20I with the spinner set to feature in the One Day games. The T2o squad for WI tour also sees KL Rahul returning to the squad, subject to a fitness clearance.
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The Indian opener has been called up to join the T20 squad after he went under the knife to have a sports hernia surgery last month. He will be eager to prove his fitness and get as much opportunities as possible with the T20 World Cup, just round the corner.
Ravichandran Ashwin makes a comeback to the white ball team with the off-spinner’s last T20I outing coming against New Zealand in November 2021. Kuldeep Yadav too joins the T20I after being sidelined due to injury. The left-arm wrist spinner impress in Indian Premier League (IPL) 2022 to earn a spot in the national team. However, his inclusion is subject to the 27 year old clearing fitness tests, just like KL Rahul.
Several players who featured in the recently tours of Ireland and England retain their place in the squad. The likes of Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, and Shreyas Iyer will continue to a part of the T20I team.
Moving on to the bowlers, Ravi Bishnoi, Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja will join Ashwin and Yadav. Umran Malik misses out from the squad. BCCI has opted to choose left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh the Jammu based Speedster. He is set to the likes of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, and Avesh Khan in the seam bowling department.
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Smit is a sports writer at Gutshot Magazine. After completing his Bachelor’s in Mass Media, and a Master’s degree in Sports Management, this sports fanatic uses articles as a tool to express his opinions. Bring up cricket or football and you will find this usually quiet guy speak for hours! He also co-heads the official supporters club of Chelsea FC in Mumbai, wherein he hosts screenings, football meets and other such events.
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