Look who’s back in T20I squad

New Delhi, December 24 

MS Dhoni was on Monday brought back to India’s T20 squad to ensure he gets “enough game-time” before the ODI World Cup but the young Rishabh Pant was axed from the 50-over side for the upcoming series against Australia and New Zealand. While Dhoni’s inclusion in the shortest format came as a surprise after he was dropped for the Australia leg just last month, Pant’s omission is an indication that he is currently not in the team management’s scheme of things for the 2019 World Cup. 

Selection committee convenor Amitabh Chaudhary refused to comment what prompted selectors to name Dhoni in the T20 squad but a source privy to the development justified the selection. “Since there are only eight ODIs (three against Australia and five against New Zealand) before the World Cup, the selectors want to give MS as much game time as possible,” said a BCCI official.

Pant, on the other hand, will come back to play five ODIs against England Lions in India from January 23. The 15-member squad for the twin ODI series against Australia (starting January 12) and New Zealand (starting January 23) is pretty much the core team for the World Cup, starting on May 30. The three T20 Internationals against the Kiwis start on February 6. — PTI 

India squads 

For ODI series against Australia and New Zealand: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami.

For T20I series against New Zealand: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (WK), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed