Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan
Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan of Mumbai Indians and all-rounder Rahul Tewatia were on Saturday named in India's 19-man squad for the five-match T20 series against England.
Yadav, after being backed by many former players to earn a national call-up, finally broke into the squad after delivering for Mumbai Indians in the recent IPL edition and performing consistently for Mumbai in domestic cricket.
Ishan and Suryakumar had a stellar IPL season with Mumbai Indians last year in the UAE. Kishan and Yadav ended the tournament at No.5 and No.7 respectively in the leading run-scorers' list. While Kishan made 516 runs at an average of 57.33, Yadav scored 480 at an average of 40.
Both the players were an integral part of the Mumbai franchise's title defence, especially when skipper Rohit Sharma was out for a few games due to his hamstring injury.
Surykaumar was initially expected to get a call-up for India's tour of Australia. Many fans had even lashed out at the selectors for ignoring the right-hander from the national set-up.
Kishan has been been in red hot form in white-ball cricket and has been rewarded and will be the second wicketkeeper in the side along with Rishabh Pant. Kishan's inclusion led to Sanju Samson's exclusion from the T20I outfit.
Haryana's Rahul Tewatia, who had an impressive season with Rajasthan Royals last year, also made it to the T20I set-up. Left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav has been dropped along with Manish Pandey. The five-match T20 series will be played in Ahmedabad from March 12.
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