India Vs Australia 2017 – Ashish Nehra Makes A Comeback For T20I Series
Jan 9, 2019 at 3:57 PM
Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra was recalled for the three T20I series against Australia, which commences at Ranchi on the 7th of October. In a squad that more or less is quite similar to the Indian ODI team which recently thrashed Australia 4-1, Nehra’s inclusion seems quite upbeat. Along with pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah, Nehra will be the third pacer in the squad.
Flamboyant opener Shikhar Dhawan too returns to the scheme of things after missing the ODI series after he opted to sit out in a bid to spend some family time. Dhawan replaces Ajinkya Rahane for the series as the selectors do not consider Rahane as the ideal T20 opener.
Another surprising inclusion was that of backup wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik. Karthik too returns to the scheme of things after he was overlooked for the Sri Lanka T20I last month. The Tamil Nadu batsman though impressed everyone with his knock in the Caribbean a few months ago.
Contrary to reports that the experienced Suresh Raina was on the verge of being recalled, there was no such development. Raina was overlooked for the three-match series, and the selectors opted to try out Karthik as a middle order option.
The batting department as a whole looks extremely steady with Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni and Kedar Jadhav forming the core of the unit. KL Rahul will be the backup opener of the team and could get a look in for one of the games.
India’s T20I Squad Vs Australia:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Axar Patel