The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the 15-man team for the forthcoming Twenty20 International series against England on Saturday, and top seamer Mohammed Shami returned to the Indian side.
For the next series against the Three Lions, Jasprit Bumrah, who captained India in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy Test matches in Perth and Sydney, has been rested.
In the five-match series, Suryakumar Yadav will captain the Men in Blue, with Axar Patel, a spinner, serving as his deputy.
The 20-over team still includes young players Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel. The 15-man team for the forthcoming series also includes Seamer Harshit Rana, who was in the T20I squad against South Africa but was unable to make the playing eleven.
Shami’s selection to the Men in Blue team will be a major topic of discussion. After 2023, the 34-year-old seamer will be wearing the blue jersey.
After missing over a year due to ankle surgery, Shami made his comeback to domestic cricket with Bengal last year. Shami was also a member of Bengal’s Vijay Hazare Trophy team.
Since his previous appearance in the ODI World Cup 2023 final, Shami has made a remarkable return to competitive cricket. After recovering from a string of setbacks and undergoing ankle surgery, he played for Bengal again in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in November.
Mohammed Shami, Harshit Rana, and Arshdeep Singh will be in charge of the Indian seam army. The spin attack will be led by Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Axar Patel.
On January 22, the five-match T20I series will begin in Kolkata. Chennai and Rajkot will host the second and third games, respectively, on January 25 and 28. On January 31, the series’ fourth game will take place in Pune. The T20I series’ last game will take place in Mumbai on February 2.
India’s squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (VC), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK).