File image of Rohit Sharma
Rohit Sharma is all set to make his return to T20I squad after his short break, for the upcoming five-game series against New Zealand which begins from January 24 onwards as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named their 16-man squad for the tour. However, Sanju Samson has been dropped making Rishabh Pant the sole wicket-keeper for the series.
India have largely maintained their squad that featured in the three-game series against Sri Lanka. While Rohit, who had taken a break from the contest at home, returns to the squad, Mohammed Shami too has been recalled to the setup after missing out the T20Is against Sri Lanka.
Samson has been dropped from the squad after featuring in only one game against Sri Lanka wherein he had scored a first-ball six before being trapped in the next ball.
Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya's return to the Indian cricket team has once again been delayed after he failed to pass the mandatory fitness tests for the India A team's tour of New Zealand. In his place, Vijay Shankar was opted for the A team.
The selection committee under outgoing chairman MSK Prasad kept the ODI and Test squads on hold for the time being.
"There are no surprises in the Indian T20 squad with Rohit, as usual, coming back in place of Sanju, who is already in New Zealand with the A team. All the other players picked themselves," a senior BCCI official privy to selection matters told PTI on the condition of anonymity.
India's T20I squad for NZ tour announced: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, S Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, W Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur
The two nations will play five T20Is starting January 24 and three ODIs from February 2 onwards before the tour heads towards the final fixture - the two-match Test series.
Since their World Cup heartbreak at the Oval, New Zealand have played only two limited-overs series, both in the T20I format. They won 2-1 in Sri Lanka and drew against England 2-2 at home. They have not played a single ODI game since July 14.
India, on the other hand, have been in a rampaging form having defeated West Indies, South Africa, Bangladesh, West Indies at home and Sri Lanka in T20I contests, while also managing a 2-1 win against Kieron Pollard's men in the only ODI contest they played since their World Cup semifinal exit.
The last time the two played in the T20I format, New Zealand had beaten India 2-1 at home while the Black Caps emerged victorious in the World Cup semifinal match against Kohli's Men in Blue.
