Rohit Sharma will lead a 16-man squad that has been announced for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. India will host New Zealand for three T20Is and two Tests, starting on November 17. The series will kick off with the three T20Is to be played in Jaipur (November 17), Ranchi (November 19) and Kolkata (November 21). Virat Kohli has been rested for the series and from the first Test.
The series will also be Rahul Dravid’s first assignment as Team India Coach and the start of the Rahul-Rohit Era. Ravi Shastri spoke about Dravid inheriting a brilliant team going forward and one which can attain even more success going forward.
India Without Shami, Bumrah
Apart from Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami, Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya have been rested from the series. R Ashwin has been retained and Yuzvendra Chahal has made a comeback to the side. Venkatesh Iyer has been included for the series and so is Mohammad Siraj.
Avesh Khan and Harshan Patel have earned call-ups for the series with Bhuvneshwar Kumar retaining his place in the side as well.
The BCCI selection committee has also picked an India A side which will be touring South Africa from November 23. The side will play three four-day games during the tour.
India ‘A’ squad for South Africa tour: Priyank Panchal (Captain), Prithvi Shaw, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Baba Aparajith, Upendra Yadav (wicket-keeper), K Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, Saurabh Kumar, Navdeep Saini, Umran Malik, Ishan Porel, Arzan Nagwaswalla
India’s home series against New Zealand will be Dravid’s first assignment with the Indian team. Dravid was the coach of the Indian team that travelled to Sri Lanka earlier this year. His contract will run till the end of the 50-over World Cup in 2023. His contract is reportedly worth Rs 10 crore.
“It is an absolute honour to be appointed as the new Head Coach of the Indian Cricket Team and I am really looking forward to this role. Under Mr Shastri, the team has done very well, and I hope to work with the team to take this forward. Having worked closely with most of the boys either at NCA, U19 and India A setup, I know they have the passion and desire to improve every day. There are some marquee multi-team events in the next two years, and I look forward to working with the players and the support staff to achieve our potential” said Dravid after his appointment.
India Squad For New Zealand Series: Rohit Sharma To Lead 16-Member Squad
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (VC), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Md. Siraj
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