Rohit Sharma has been handed the reign of the Indian T20 International team after Virat Kohli has relinquished the position. The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Tuesday announced a 16-member squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand.
Virat Kohli has been rested. He will also miss the first match of the two-Test series against the visiting Kiwis.
New Zealand will start the India tour with the first T20I on November 17, a mere three days after the ICC T20 World Cup final in Dubai on October 14. New Zealand will face England in the first semi-final on Wednesday.
All-rounder Hardik Pandya has been axed from the T20I squad.
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Rohit Sharma will lead India in the three-match T20I series against New Zealand which begins at Jaipur on November 17. K.L. Rahul will be his deputy.
Ruturaj Gaikwad and Venkatesh Iyer, who performed exceptionally well in IPL 2021, were included in the squad. Yuzvendra Chahal, who was dropped for the T20 World Cup, returned to the side while R. Ashwin retained his spot.
The senior selection committee, headed by Chetan Sharma, picked a 16-member squad for the series. Virat Kohli who relinquished his captaincy from the shortest format, has been rested.
The committee also picked an India-A squad, led by Priyank Panchal, that will travel to South Africa from November 23 to play in three four-day matches in Bloemfontein.
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, Mohd. Siraj.
Mohammad Shami, who had a dismal World Cup, and Shardul Thakur have also been kept out of the squad for the India-New Zealand T20I series.
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