With an aim to continue their dominance in world cricket, Team India will next take on New Zealand in the upcoming three-match ODI series, starting on October 22 in Mumbai. India defeated Australia 4-1 in the five-match ODI series to regain the number one spot in ICC team rankings. On Saturday, the MSK Prasad-led selection committee announced the 15-member squad to take on the Black Caps in the ODI series.
Stylish left-hander Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the ODI series against Australia to attend his ailing wife has made a return to the Indian team. In-form openers Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane have also been retained in the squad by the management.
Young batsman KL Rahul has been dropped from the team, Tamil Nadu wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik has replaced him for the ODI series vs New Zealand. The 32-year-old was named in the T20I squad for the recently-concluded Australia series but did not get a game. Karthik last played for India during the West Indies tour in July and was also a part of the Champions Trophy squad.
Pacer Shardul Thakur has also made a return to the squad, he was a part of the Indian ODI team in Sri Lanka. However, the speedster was ignored for the series against Australia after playing in Sri Lanka.
Interestingly, India's celebrated spin duo of - Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have once again failed to make the cut in the team. Earlier this week, Ashwin passed the Yo-Yo Test at the NCA. The Indian selectors have once again put their money on the impressive young wrist spinners - Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav along with all-rounder Axar Patel.
Yuvraj Singh and Suresh Raina also missed out on the selection in the limited-overs format.
Under the leadership of skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian cricket team are now being tagged as the 'modern-day invincibles' and have emerged as a dominant force in all the formats of the game.
India Squad:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.
