BCCI announces the 16-man squad for Australia and New Zealand ODIs

Team India is scheduled to play eight One-Day Internationals against Australia and New Zealand in 2019. Soon after the conclusion of the ongoing Test series, the Men in Blue will play three ODIs against the home side after which they will travel to New Zealand for the five-match series in the same format. Meanwhile, the BCCI has announced the 16-man squad for both the series as MS Dhoni has returned into the international arena.

There ae no surprises in the ODI squads as the same group is most likely to travel to England for the World Cup now. Interestingly, Rishabh Pant has been left out and Dinesh Karthik has been retained as the backup wicket-keeper for Dhoni contrary to the earlier reports which surfaced. Moreover, Mohammed Shami has also made it to the ODI squad and it will be interesting to see if he makes it to the final XI in any of these matches.

Khaleel retained

Khaleel Ahmed, the left-arm pacer, has been retained and looks certain to play the World Cup now. He has done nothing wrong after making his debut at the highest level and will only improve after playing more matches in the lead up to the showpiece event.

Meanwhile, Pant’s exclusion is surprising given that he was the wicket-keeper in the Australia series but couldn’t impress much with the willow. Shami seems to be the backup fast bowler for Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah. Ravindra Jadeja has also retained his place thanks to his consistent showing since making a comeback in the Asia Cup.

While the ODIs against Australia start on January 12, the 50-over tussle against the Kiwis commences on January 23 next year.

India’s ODI squad against Australia and New Zealand: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami.

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