Mohammed Siraj and Shreyas Iyer selected in T20I squad for NZ series

Indian selectors met today in Mumbai to select the 16-man squad for India’s upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. Surprisingly, Mumbai’s Shreyas Iyer and Hyderabad’s Mohammed Siraj made into the squad. Rohit Sharma will continue to don the vice-captaincy role in the series.

India will take on Blackcaps in the T20I series starting from 1st November, which is the retirement date of veteran pacer Ashish Nehra. Among notable inclusions, KL Rahul made into the squad after the exclusion from the ODI side. Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja have been omitted yet again by the selectors.

Kedar and Rahane omitted

There were reports about selectors giving rest to Virat Kohli during the T20I series due to the workload, but the MSK Prasad-led team quashed all the reports and appointed him as the skipper for the 3-match series. Kedar Jadhav and Ajinkya Rahane have been omitted and the reason is yet to be revealed by the selection committee.

Veteran pacer Ashish Nehra has been picked only for the first T20I, which will be his last ever international game. The squad comprises of three front line spinners and four pacers. Dinesh Karthik has got another chance in the shortest form of the game, but we aren’t sure about his place in the playing XI because of KL Rahul’s comeback.

It will be interesting to see how the skipper will use the services of new comers Shreyas Iyer and Mohammed Siraj in the playing XI if they make into it.

India T20I squad vs NZ: Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Mohammed Siraj

Schedule for NZ T20I series

November – 1, Wednesday – 1st T20I at Ferozshah Kotla, Delhi

November – 4, Saturday – 2nd T20I at Saurashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Rajkot

November – 7, Tuesday – 3rd T20I at Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram