The BCCI has announced 15-member Indian T20 squad for the upcoming T20 series against South Africa, starting 15 August. The selectors have showed their faith in youngsters which is an indication that they want to build a young team for the 2020 T20 World Cup in Australia. Hardik Pandya made a comeback after recovering from an injury and will play alongside his elder brother- Krunal Pandya.
Experienced Bhuvneshwar Kumar was left out from the team as the selectors rewarded Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini for their impressive run in West Indies T20 series.
MS Dhoni is the absentee from the list which makes it clear that Pant will be India’s first choice wicket-keeper in T20 format. The selectors continue to manage Jasprit Bumrah’s workload and have rested him for the series.
The team will be led by Virat Kohli with Rohit Sharma as his deputy. Shikhar Dhawan retained his spot in the team alongside Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer. KL Rahul and Ravindra Jadeja have also retained their place in the team.
The pace bowling department will boast of Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar and Navdeep Saini. Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar will be the two specialist spinners in the team.
Indian squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma(vice-captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
