Rohit Sharma named T20I skipper, KL Rahul to don vice-captain hat for NZ series; Venkatesh, Harshal picked

The new-look team announced by the BCCI on Tuesday also features IPL’s highest run-getter, Chennai Super Kings opener Ruturaj Gaikwad, along with the league’s top wicket-taker, RCB’s Harshal Patel. Gaikwad has already played for India in the Sri Lanka series.

Venkatesh Iyer, who is seen as a potential all-rounder also found a place in the 16-member team in place of Hardik Pandya. Pandya, who bowled a couple of overs in the World Cup, failed to make a big impact as was dropped from the team for the upcoming series.

Senior leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal rightfully got his place in the squad back while Mohammed Siraj, who has played a few T20Is in the past, is also in the mix. Shreyas Iyer, Axar Patel and Deepak Chahar, who were in the T20 World Cup reserves are now in the main squad.

While the news didn’t come as a surprise and it was known to all, BCCI announcing Rohit as a skipper was a mere formality. KL Rahul will be his new deputy in shortest format of the game.

Pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and spinner Ravindra Jadeja have also been given much-needed rest for the short series. However, Pandya, who didn’t actually provide an honest picture of his fitness status has been dropped from the squad.

The Committee also picked the India ‘A’ squad for the South Africa tour scheduled to start from 23rd November 23 in Bloemfontein. The team will play three four-day matches during the tour.

India’s T20I squad against NZ: 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

India ‘A’ squad for South Africa tour: Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla

(Inputs from BCCI & PTI)