On Monday, midway through the T20 World Cup, India’s top selector Chetan Sharma named the selections for forthcoming tours to New Zealand and Bangladesh. Hardik Pandya will captain the T20Is in New Zealand, while Shikhar Dhawan will captain the ODI leg, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and KL Rahul, among others, resting for the tour. Pandya also led India to victory in the T20I series against Ireland in June.
Rohit will return to lead a near-full-strength side for the Bangladesh ODIs and Tests, minus the rested Pandya, with Ravindra Jadeja, also poised to return following knee surgery, pending fitness.
Ravichandran Ashwin has been left out of all three white-ball squads, and Dinesh Karthik, the team’s specialty finisher in the T20 World Cup, has been left out of the New Zealand T20Is.
The chief selector was then questioned if Karthik, who now only plays one international format, had played enough to warrant the requirement for workload control, and what his medical reports provided with the selectors had recommended. “Internal topics (such as player medical reports) cannot be discussed on a public forum,” Chetan Sharma answered.
The head selector announced that Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out of the T20 World Cup owing to a stress response in his back, will be available for the February 2023 home series against Australia. Bumrah has played only two T20Is since the England tour in July, both against Australia in September. Chetan Sharma stated that the selectors attempted to “hurry up” Bumrah’s return with the T20 World Cup in mind, but that they were being extra careful now.
Prithvi Shaw has yet to be selected for any of the squads. Shaw has 285 runs in the present Syed Mushtaq Ali T20 Trophy for Mumbai, with an average of 47.50 and a strike rate of 191.28. Chetan Sharma has stated that the young opener will be given his chance “very soon.”
Sarfaraz Ahmed, a Mumbai middle-order batsman, was the previous Ranji Trophy’s notable lead run-getter, with 982 runs, including four hundreds, at an average of 122.75. While he has played for India’s A sides, the head selector believes he will need to work “particularly hard” for a national call-up.
Hanuma Vihari, who last played for India against England in July, has been left out of the Bangladesh Test team. India now only has three middle-order batsmen, and Chetan Sharma stated that the selectors were also considering Shubman Gill as a middle-order batsman, leaving no room for Vihari.
According to the top selector, Ajinkya Rahane will need to produce huge runs in domestic cricket to make a comeback. Also, with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal selected for the New Zealand T20Is, Ravi Bishnoi, the reserve spinner for the T20 World Cup, was unable to play.
Pacers Kuldeep Sen (Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Royals) and Yash Dayal (Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat Titans) have been called up for their first one-day internationals against New Zealand and Bangladesh, respectively. Both recently played for India ‘A’ in the New Zealand ‘A’ series.
Umran Malik, India’s quickest bowler, is also returning for the New Zealand tour after appearing in three T20Is in Ireland and England.
New Zealand T20Is: Hardik Pandya (C), Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishanj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umran Malik, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Sira
New Zealand ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Sen, Umran Malik, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (VC and WK), Sanju Samson (WK), Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Shahbaz Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Deepak Chahar
Bangladesh ODIs: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Deepak Chahar, Yash Dayal, Rajat Patidar, Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Tripathi, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami, Mohd. Siraj
Bangladesh Tests: Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Shubman Gill, Mohd. Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Mohd. Shami
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