 "Team India squad for England T20 series: Shami, Jurel, and Nitish Reddy included; Jaiswal rested")
Mohammed Shami returned to the Indian cricket team after more than a year as he was included in the T20 squad for the five-match series against England. The series starts on 22 January in Kolkata, and besides Shami, the selectors have also opted to pick Dhruv Jurel as the backup wicket-keeper to Sanju Samson while Rishabh Pant misses out.
After suffering an ankle injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup, in which India lost to Australia in the final, Shami was out of action for the whole year as he underwent surgery. He made a competitive return last year with the Ranji Trophy and has also featured in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy.
India were hopeful of having Shami available for the last part of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia which they lost 3-1 but the pacer was ruled out due to a swelling in his knee .
“Based on the current medical assessment, the BCCI medical team has determined that his knee requires more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads. Consequently, he has not been deemed fit for consideration for the remaining two Tests of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy,” a BCCI release said on 23 December
Changes in Team India’s T20 squad
Other changes in the squad include Jitesh Sharma leaving to make way for Jurel, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who impressed with his performances in Australia, replacing Ramandeep Singh, and Shivam Dube being dropped.
Abhishek Sharma has been retained as an opener while Yashasvi Jaiswal’s name was missing. It could be because selectors wanted to give him a rest after he scored 391 runs in five Tests in Australia recently. Riyan Parag’s name is also missing but it has been reported that he is injured.
Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain and other players in the 15-member squad include Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsThe selectors have only picked the T20 squad for now and the ODI squads for the three-match England series and Champions Trophy 2025 will be picked later, it has been reported by the Times of India.
As per ICC rule, teams are required to submit their Champions Trophy 2025 squads by 12 January but the BCCI is reportedly set to ask for an extension.
India’s T20 squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).
India vs England T20I series schedule
22 January: First T20I vs England (Eden Gardens)
25 January: Second T20I vs England (Chennai)
28 January: Third T20I vs England (Rajkot)
31 January: Fourth T20I vs England (Pune)
2 February: Fifth T20I vs England (Wankhede)
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