Twitter comes up with mixed reactions after India announce fresh squad for New Zealand T20Is

BCCI, on Tuesday (November 9), announced India’s 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand. A refreshed squad saw the performers from the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being rewarded while a few all-format regulars were rested as well. Rohit Sharma has taken over the captaincy from Virat Kohli who stepped down after the T20 World Cup while KL Rahul is named vice-captain.

Apart from Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja have been rested for the series while all-rounder Hardik Pandya isn’t picked due to fitness issues. Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakaravarthy and Rahul Chahar, three players who were in the World Cup squad, have missed out.

Interestingly, Yuzvendra Chahal makes his comeback after shockingly missing out on a position in the WC squad despite doing well in the second leg of the IPL. The man who replaced him, Rahul Chahar, played only match during the Super 12 stage and has been eventually left out. However, the leggie is the part of India A squad which will tour South Africa to play three four-day matches.

Deepak, Shreyas and Axar get call-ups

As expected, all the three traveling reserves, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel have been including the main squad this time around and may get regular chances to prove their worth. Among the IPL performers, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan have been selected and these players will be fresh and raring to perform with another T20 World Cup only 11 months away which is to be played in Australia.

India T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohd. Siraj

Surprisingly, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been retained despite being dropped from the playing XI following a poor game against Pakistan. He was benched for the rest of the four matches during Super 12. Apart from Rohit and Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav are the players who have been a part of bubble for so long now. Mohammed Siraj is another pacer making a comeback in the shortest format of the game.

The fans were excited to see a refreshed side as India start preparing for the next year’s T20 World Cup. There was mixed response on Twitter for the squad as the fans expected a few more players to get rest who have been playing continuously.

Here’s how Twitter reacted: