Virat Kohli was on Friday named as the captain of the Indian team for the ODI and T20I series vs England. In a surprise move, Yuvraj Singh has made a comeback in both the ODI and T20I teams
Virat Kohli made captain for ODIs, T20Is; Yuvraj Singh returns vs England
Virat Kohli and Yuvraj Singh
Virat Kohli has been appointed India's limited overs skipper after the resignation of Mahendra Singh Dhoni, as selectors announced the squad for the upcoming series against England.
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The swashbuckling batsman, who has presided over an 18-match unbeaten run as Test captain, will lead India in three one-day internationals starting from January 15 before the sides play three Twenty20 matches.
The selectors also sprung a surprise and have picked all-rounder Yuvraj Singh for both the ODI and T20I series. KL Rahul has been chosen as the openers for the ODIs.
Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane were recalled to the team after being out due to injuries by the Board of Control for Cricket in India's (BCCI) selection panel.
All-rounders Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, who were rested for the New Zealand ODIs, are also back in the squad. The duo played in the five Tests against England.
Veteran left-hander Suresh Raina, who was ignored for the England ODIs, found himself along with pacer Ashish Nehra in the squad for the three T20Is. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant was named in the T20 squad.
Dhoni, who led India to victory in the 2011 World Cup as well as the 2007 World Twenty20, kept his place in both 15-men squads, the Indian board's chief selector M.S. K. Prasad announced in a televised press conference.
The national selection committee named rookie Delhi keeper Rishabh Pant in the T20 squad giving an indication as to whom they consider Dhoni's successor.
The selection committee meeting today had its share of drama and was delayed by three hours on technical grounds before a go ahead from the Lodha panel set the proceedings rolling.
Today's meeting was convened by BCCI CEO Rahul Johri after joint Secretary Amitabh Chaudhary stood disqualified owing to the Supreme Court verdict, which sacked the entire BCCI top brass last week.
Among the notable omissions, Ajinkya Rahane has been dropped from the T20 team and Pant replaces him as a batsman who will also be Dhoni's understudy in limited overs for the time being.
"We know what Mahi is all about, he is a captain by nature, a leader from the front," Prasad showered accolades on the outgoing captain.
Yuvraj was in splendid form during the Ranji Trophy and scored 672 runs in five games at an average of 84 with a highest score of 260 against Baroda before he took a break due to his marriage. "We should appreciate how Yuvraj has played. He did extremely well in domestic cricket, which has been appreciated," Prasad told mediapersons about Yuvraj, who is making a comeback nine months after the World T20 last year.
The two teams saw veteran Ashish Nehra, who underwent surgery after sustaining an injury during IPL, make a comeback. His selection indicated the dearth of quality left-arm seamers in the horizon and no one can question Nehra's craft with the white kookaburra.
Team for 1st warm-up tie: Shikhar Dhawan, Mandeep Singh, Ambati Rayudu, Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (capt), Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvender Chahal, Ashish Nehra, Mohit Sharma, Siddarth Kaul
Team for 2nd warm-up tie: Rishabh Pant, Ajinkya Rahane (capt), Suresh Raina, Deepak Hooda, Ishan Kishan, Sheldon Jackson, V Shankar, Shahvbaz Nadeem, Parvez Rasool, Vinay Kumar, Pradeep Sangwan, Ashok Dinda
Team for 3 ODIs: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav
Team for T20Is: Virat KOhli (capt), Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Mandeep Singh, KL Rahul, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra
(With Agency Inputs)
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