Sreesanth picks his India XI including himself in the squad; chooses Rohit Sharma as the T20I captain

Being a part of 2007 T20 World Cup squad and 2011 ODI World Cup squad, Sreesanth was eyeing for unprecedented success across all formats. His blistering pace and fiery attitude was the reason behind his impressive bowling spells. The mercurial pacer was touted to have a great future with the Indian side.

While donning the Indian jersey in 27 Tests, 53 ODIs and 10 T20Is, 37-year-old Sreesanth scalped 87, 75 and 7 wickets respectively. However, Sreesanth’s career took an unexpected turn after he was slapped with a life ban for his alleged role in 2013 IPL spot-fixing.

The life ban was cut short to seven years and the pacer is now all set to hit the grounds and bounce back to international cricket. Sreesanth will be eligible to play all forms of cricket from 13th September 2020.

In an exclusive chat with WION, Sreesanth opened up on his desire to return to the national side. He even picked an India XI including himself in the squad.

Sreesanth heaps praise on Suresh Raina

Sreesanth said that he believes in the idea of keeping one fixed side across all formats. He even heaped praise on Suresh Raina and said that the left-hander deserves more appreciation. Talking about the leadership role, Sreesanth opined that the T20 captaincy must go to Rohit Sharma, with Virat Kohli leading in other two formats.

“I firmly believe in one team for all formats. Suresh Raina is someone who deserves a lot more appreciation. And with all due respect to Virat, Rohit will captain in T20s and Kohli can take the captain’s band in all other formats,” said Sreesanth.

For the opening trio, 37-year-old Sreesanth slotted the experienced men of Team India– Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli. The much-debated No.4 slot was awarded to Suresh Raina by Sreesanth.

Following Raina, Sreesanth picked KL Rahul at the No.5 position. Since the 2019 World Cup, Rahul has been delivering stupendous performances for the side in the limited-overs format. Be it his wicketkeeping skills or batting consistency, Rahul hasn’t disappointed the selectors.

Sreesanth also picked MS Dhoni in the side, followed by the all-rounder duo of Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja. The solitary spinner in the Kerala pacer’s India XI was Kuldeep Yadav.

Coming on to the pace bowling force, Sreesanth, along with himself, picked Jasprit Bumrah. Known for his pin-perfect yorkers and death-overs bowling, Bumrah has been an indispensable part of the national side across all formats.

Here’s Sreesanth’s India XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Sreesanth.