Keeping captain Virat Kohli’s workload in mind, the MSK Prasad-led selection committee on Thursday rested the Indian skipper from the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh at home. However Kohli will be back for the two- match Test series which will commence from November 14. In Kolhi’s absence, his deputy in the limited-overs format , Rohit Sharma will lead the 15-man squad in the T20I series
All-rounder Shivam Dube, 26-year-old from Mumbai got his maiden international call-up for the T20I series against Bangladesh. Dube, who made his first class and List A debuts in 2017 has found a place in the squad because first choice all-rounder Hardik Pandya is recuperating post back surgery.
Dube pipped Vijay Shankar as the second choice all-rounder, primarily based on his big-hitting prowess. Chairman of selection committee MSK Prasad said, "You can see, earlier we had Hardik Pandya, then we also tried Vijay Shankar. All of us agreed in unison that the role we have, he (Dube) fits in very well.
He bats aggressively, his performances in the India A Series in West Indies and also against South Africa in the ODIs (for India A) was phenomenal. He has gone up by leaps and bounds, a notch higher and we are convinced about it.
Interestingly, talented wicket-keeper batsman Sanju Samson has been included for the T20Is, but as back-up wicket-keeper.
Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returned to the side for the T20 Internationals. Also finding a place in the T20 squad was Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was rested. Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini was omitted on fitness grounds.
"Experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could make a comeback from injury in the next series (against the West Indies)," chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said.
"Navdeep Saini was not available, that is the reason we picked up Shardul Thakur," he added.
For the two-Test series vs Bangladesh, the squad remains unchanged. The 15 players who were selected for the South Africa series will feature in the two Tests against Bangladesh as well.
Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who picked up four wickets on his Test debut against South Africa, was not considered for selection. Shahbaz was not part of the original squad against the Proteas and came in as replacement for the injured Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the Ranchi Test.
India’s squad for T20I series against Bangladesh: Rohit Sharma(Capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(wk), Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
India’s squad for Test series against Bangladesh: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal,Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Saha (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant
Bangladesh tour of India schedule:
1st T20I - 3rd November - Delhi
2nd T20I - 7th November - Rajkot
3rd T20I - 10th November - Nagpur
1st Test - 14th-18th November - Indore
2nd Test - 22nd-26th November - Kolkata
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