The inclusion of fast bowler Shardul Thakur and wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik were the only change announced in the 15-man squad announced to play New Zealand in the bilateral limited-overs series later this month.
The selection panel led by MSK Prasad has also decided to drop KL Rahul, Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav from the squad which otherwise is the same set of players who got picked for the recently-concluded series against Australia.
The latest news also has indicated that the senior spin bowling duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been overlooked for one more series by the selectors, as the faith in young alternatives Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal grows after the end of each series.
Kuldeep Yadav was India’s highest wicket-taker in the limited-overs series with nine wickets in six games while Yuzvendra Chahal snapped seven wickets in as many matches. The two wrist spinners made life tough for the Australians who looked very uncomfortable while countering the duo.
The fast bowling pair of Mohammad Shami and Umesh Yadav, on the other hand, got limited opportunities. Both played in the 4th ODI in Bengaluru and did fairly well. Yadav was able to take 4/74 while Shami finished with 0/62 in the high scoring game.
Karthik meanwhile is making a comeback in the side after a brief interval. He featured in the ODI series against Windies on their home soil in July before getting dropped. He was a part of the Champions Trophy squad as well but did not get to play any game.
Ahead of the series against Australia, he was overlooked but has now successfully returned to the scheme of things and should probably expect a chance to play in the upcoming series.
New Zealand also announced their complete squad today, adding the necessary 8 names to the initial 9 man squad which was announced a couple of weeks ago.
George Worker, Colin Munro, Ish Sodhi, Henry Nicholls, Todd Astle, Matt Henry, Glenn Phillips, Tom Bruce all reaped the rewards of their performances playing for the New Zealand A side.
Both sides will play two warm-up games against the Board President’s XI, on October 17 and 19 at the CCI. The series commences on October 22 and includes three ODIs and T20s each.
Full Squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur.