Pune: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was Friday dropped from India’s Twenty20 squads for the home series against the West Indies and for the crucial away assignment against Australia while skipper Virat Kohli was also rested from the T20 series against West Indies. Rohit Sharma will captain the side in the absence of Kohli against Windies.
The two keepers in the two T20 squads announced are Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik. The three T20s against Australia will get underway from November 21, followed by a four-Test series and three ODIs.
In some of the other decisions, Murali Vijay has been brought back in the Test squad for Australia along with the fit-again Ishant Sharma. However, Rohit has been included as an additional batsman in the Test squad.
Another significant comeback in the Test side is Parthiv Patel as the second keeper alongside Pant. The selectors have also rewarded left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem as he received his maiden call-up for the T20s against West Indies. Fit-again batsman Kedar Jadhav has been brought back for the fourth and fifth ODI against West Indies.
The squads:
T20 series against WI: Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav and Shahbaz Nadeem.
Test series against Oz: Virat Kohli (C), Murali Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
T20 series against Oz: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and Khaleel Ahmed.