The Board for Control of Cricket in India unveiled the most awaited squad for the upcoming South Africa T20 series on Sunday.
The board announced KL Rahul as the series captain and Rishabh Pant as the vice-captain, putting an end to all conjecture about the roster.
The group appears very similar to the one that faced Sri Lanka earlier this year, since the selectors did not seem to be impressed with the players’ IPL form.
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Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Rituraj Gaikwad, and Shreyas Iyer were among the players retained from the Sri Lankan squad.
Dinesh Karthik received an award for his IPL performance. He’s been in fantastic form as a finisher for Royal Challengers Bangalore, and he’s been called up to the squad for his batsmanship.
Hardik Pandya, who has regained his full fitness and is bowling again, has also been recalled. Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, and Axar Patel have been selected in the spin department.
Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have been selected for the first time in the Indian pace department. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has kept his place in the team, while Harshal Patel has also been selected.
Senior hitters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, as well as bowler Jasprit Bumrah, have been sidelined from the series, as expected.
Hardik Pandya was expected to head the side before the announcement, but the selectors appear to have gone with a mix of young and veteran players.
T20I Squad – KL Rahul (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(VC) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik