Harbhajan Singh picks youthful 15-member squad for T20I series against West Indies

Former Indian cricketer and 2011 World Cup winner Harbhajan Singh has revealed his preferred 15-man squad for the T20I series against the Windies, commencing in August later this year. The former Indian cricketer went with a youthful side, led by Hardik Pandya, with a few surprising inclusions.

While Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rinku Singh are two of the most obvious picks given their sublime effort with the bat in the recently concluded IPL 2023, Harbhajan also included Harshit Rana and Akash Madhwal in the 15-member squad. Both Rana and Madhwal shone for their respective franchises in the latter part of the tournament. Jitesh Sharma is another youngster who gets the nod from the former Mumbai Indians player, following his power-hitting display lower down the order in IPL 2023.

Harbhajan's preferred T20I squad for the WI series: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Jitesh Sharma, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Akash Madhwal

Harbhajan Singh picks his T20 team for the West Indies series:

1) Shubman Gill
2) Yashasvi Jaiswal
3) Ruturaj Gaikwad
4) Ishan Kishan
5) Suryakumar Yadav
6) Rinku Singh
7) Tilak Varma
8) Hardik Pandya (C)
9) Axar Patel
10) Jitesh Sharma
11) Ravi Bishnoi
12) Yuzvendra Chahal… pic.twitter.com/ySdhgzjO5L

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 13, 2023

The former Indian cricketer has been critical of several senior members of the Indian team who underperformed in the recently concluded World Test Championship Final. It is worth noting that none of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Mohammed Siraj and Mohammed Shami features in his preferred T20I squad for the Windies series.

While the aforementioned players are expected to feature in the three-match ODI series that precedes the T20Is, Harbhajan went with a young team as a learning curve for the youngsters, keeping in mind the T20 World Cup next year.