India decided to rest their prominent top-order names part of the T20 World Cup for the looming white-ball trip to New Zealand. Captain Rohit Sharma, his opening partner KL Rahul and batting great Virat Kohli have been given a much-deserved breather for the three T20Is and three ODIs against the Black Caps.
The first T20I in Wellington will be played on November 18, only five days after the final of the T20 World Cup at MCG on November 13. The trio, however, will return for the following trip to Bangladesh, where India play 3 ODIs and 2 Tests against the hosts through December.
In the absence of Rohit and Rahul, Hardik Pandya has been named captain for the T20Is in New Zealand, with Shikhar Dhawan leading the second-string side for the ODIs. Wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been named their deputy in either format.
The T20I squad also had no places for veterans Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin, with the duo’s future in the shortest format beyond this T20 World Cup looking gloomy, although chief selector Chetan Sharma said the door won’t be shut on anyone and they’ve also been given a rest.
There was no place once again for the prolific top-order aggressor Prithvi Shaw, but the selectors introduced Shubman Gill to the T20I side for the first time. Another surprising absentee from the shortest format was wristspinner Ravi Bishnoi, who has seemingly lost his place to Kuldeep Yadav – a player that wasn’t in the scheme of things for the 2022 World Cup, while the former was named in the standbys.
Washington Sundar, Ishan Kishan and Mohammed Siraj made their T20I comebacks for the Kiwi trip. As did pacer Umran Malik, who made his debut during the short trip to Ireland in June. These three will be joined on duties by the regular suspects part of the T20I squad, with Pandya leading the pack for the second time this year.
The ODI squad under Dhawan is similar to the T20I side, bar Hardik and Siraj, who has been rested and picked for the Bangladesh games instead. His absence has seen a maiden call-up being handed over to Kuldeep Sen, with Deepak Chahar returning to the squad after a recent back injury ruled him out from the T20 World Cup standbys. Malik is also included in a fast-bowling roster where Arshdeep Singh will be India’s second-most capped speedster.
Kohli, Rohit and Rahul will return on board for the Bangladesh ODIs, where they will be joined by Dhawan, Pant and Siraj. Mohammad Shami, the veteran speedster, who will skip the entire New Zealand trip, will be back for the Bangladesh ODIs.
Similar to the Kiwi trip, however, the selectors have rested Hardik for the Bangladesh 50-over matches. Like Sen in New Zealand, pacer Yash Dayal has earned a maiden call for the Bangladesh ODIs, as Prasidh Krishna and Navdeep Seni continue their respective injury rehabs. Avesh Khan is not part of any of the squads.
In Bangladesh, India will have their premier spin allrounder Ravindra Jadeja back after a sustained knee injury rehab. The injury ruled Jadeja out from the T20 World Cup, but he is expected to be fine for the ODIs and the two World Test Championship games against the neighbours. Ace quick Jasprit Bumrah wasn’t included in any of the squad as he continues his recovery from a back issue that sidelined him ahead of the marquee Australian trip.
The Test squad in Bangladesh had no place for middle-order backup batter Hanuma Vihari, with chief selector Sharma explaining he couldn’t be fit in because of the likely team combination in Dhaka and Chittagong. Along the same lines, the selectors also told the big-scoring Sarfaraz Khan to wait for his elusive maiden Test call-up.
