India have ended 2019 on a winning note after defeating West Indies 2-1 in a three match ODI series at home. This was India’s 10th straight ODI series victory against the Windies who just can’t seem to find a way past the Men in Blue in the 50-over format. Now, their squad is bolstered by the return of key players, Jasprit Bumrah and Shikhar Dhawan.
New year will bring in new challenges as India embark on a three-match T20I and ODI series against Sri Lanka and Australia respectively in the comfort of their own backyard. India’s lethal pacer, Jasprit Bumrah is fit and is back in the squad while the left-handed opening batsman Shikhar Dhawan also returns into the picture after missing the series against the Windies.
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The chairman of the selection committee, MSK Prasad after much deliberation has decided to rest Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami, keeping in mind the long tour of New Zealand just after the series against Australia. Rohit has played more matches than his skipper, Virat Kohli this year and has been given a much-needed rest by the selectors.
The mystery around MS Dhoni still prevails while fast bowler Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar miss out due to injuries. Pacer Navdeep Saini has been brought in place of Shami.
After a break of couple of weeks, India will take on Sri Lanka in three T20 Internationals from January 5 which is followed by three ODIs against Australia, which commences on January 14.
Squads:
India Squad (T20Is against Sri Lanka): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Shivam Dube, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Manish Pandey, Washington Sundar, Sanju Samson.
India Squad (ODIs vs Australia): Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur, Jasprit Bumrah.
Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis
