Rohit Sharma is set to lead as BCCI announced a 16-member squad for the forthcoming T20I series versus New Zealand. KL Rahul has been named as vice-captain of the side. Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja have all been rested. The first T20I of the three-match series begins on 17 November.
Yuzvendra Chahal, who failed to make a cut in the T20 World Cup squad, has been recalled. R. Ashwin and Axar Patel are two other spinners in the squad. There was no place for Varun Chakravarthy, who is battling a recurring knee injury.
Venkatesh Iyer, Avesh Khan and Harshal Patel have earned maiden call-ups. Iyer did well as an opener for Kolkata Knight Riders in the UAE leg of the IPL 2021.
Harshal was the leading wicket-taker of the tournament. He took 32 wickets, the joint-most in single season of the IPL. He also did a hat-trick against Mumbai Indians. With 24 wickets, Avesh finished second in the season.
Mohammed Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar complete the pace attack of the team.
India's T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj.
Further, a 14-member squad for India A's tour of South Africa has also been announced. They will play three four-day matches in Bloemfontein. The first match starts from 23 November.
India A squad for South Africa tour: Priyank Panchal (c), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wk), K. Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla