Not Hardik Pandya or Sanju Samson, BCCI name THIS star as India’s vice-captain for England T20Is
New Delhi: The most significant development from the BCCI selection meeting for the upcoming India vs England five-T20I series, starting on January 22, was the inclusion of Mohammed Shami. Additionally, Jasprit Bumrah, who captained India during the Perth and Sydney Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been given a break for the upcoming series against England. However, there were a few more unexpected decisions as well.
Suryakumar Yadav will captain the Indian team for the five-match series, with spinner Axar Patel appointed as the vice-captain. Hardik Pandya has been included in the squad but has not been given a prominent role.
Youngsters Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel have successfully kept their spots in the 20-over squad. Seamer Harshit Rana, who was part of the T20I squad against South Africa but did not play, has also been included in the 15-member team for the upcoming series.
A major talking point will be the return of Shami to the Indian team. The 34-year-old pacer is set to wear the blue jersey once again after 2023.
After undergoing ankle surgery that sidelined him for nearly a year, Shami made his return to domestic cricket with Bengal. He was also part of Bengal’s Vijay Hazare Trophy squad.
Shami made an impressive comeback, having last played in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. Following his recovery from ankle surgery and a series of challenges, he returned to competitive cricket for Bengal’s Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in November.
Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Shami will lead the Indian fast-bowling attack.
Meanwhile, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar will handle the spin department.
The five-match T20I series will begin on January 22 in Kolkata, followed by the second and third games on January 25 and 28 in Chennai and Rajkot, respectively. The fourth match will take place on January 31 in Pune, with the final match hosted by Mumbai on February 2.
India’s squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (VC), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK).