IND vs ENG: Mohammed Shami returns, no place for Rishabh Pant in T20I squad
Mohammed Shami has made his long-awaited return to the Indian team as he has been picked for the upcoming T20I series against England.
India, however, decided to leave Rishabh Pant out of the squad for the series as they decided to go with Sanju Samson and Dhruv Jurel as the designated wicketkeepers. Shami last played for India in the final of the ODI World Cup against Australia on 19 November, 2023. He would then undergo surgery after suffering a heel injury during the tournament, which would rule him out of the IPL 2024 and the T20 World Cup last year.
The pacer would suffer swelling on his knee during his rehab, which ruled him out of the Bangladesh and New Zealand home Test series. A side strain in November ruled him out of the initial portion of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy before a knee injury ended his chances of making it to Australia.
Shami would make his return to the field during the Ranji Trophy for Bengal and went on to play in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy and has produced good performances with the ball and some cameos with the bat as well.
Jurel comes in as Pant not featured
A notable absentee from the squad was Pant, who last played a T20I during the Sri Lanka tour. Jurel has been roped in as the second wicketkeeper in the 15-man squad, with Samson expected to keep his place in the playing XI at the top of the order. Jurel played 2 T20Is for India during their tour of Zimbabwe.
Most of the Indian stars from the Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad have been given a rest, with Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar and Harshit Rana being the exceptions. Suryakumar Yadav will once again be the captain of the side with Axar Patel taking up the role of being his deputy.
India and England will face off in 5 T20Is, with the first match taking place in Kolkata on January 22.
India’s squad for T20I series against England
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).