Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) all-rounder Ramandeep Singh and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak have received their first India call-ups for the upcoming four-T20I series against South Africa. The BCCI announced the squad on Friday, October 25.
Ramandeep, from Punjab, scored 125 runs in nine innings for KKR in IPL 2024, with a strike rate of 201.61, marking a breakthrough season as a finisher. Meanwhile, Karnataka’s Vyshak took 13 wickets in 11 innings in the IPL.
The majority of the squad is as expected, though there are notable absences due to injuries, including fast bowler Mayank Yadav, who debuted against Bangladesh earlier this month, and standout all-rounders Shivam Dube and Riyan Parag from IPL 2024.
“Mayank Yadav and Shivam Dube were unavailable for selection owing to injuries. Riyan Parag was unavailable for selection and is currently at The BCCI Centre of Excellence for long term resolution of his chronic right shoulder injury,” the BCCI said in a press release.
Pace-bowling all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who impressed in the series against Bangladesh, and Harshit Rana, the highest wicket-taker among uncapped bowlers in IPL 2024, have been left out, along with spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar.
Their omissions seem to be connected to their Test call-ups for India’s tour of Australia in November for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. In their place, Axar Patel and Avesh Khan, who are not part of the Test squad, have been included, along with left-arm pacer Yash Dayal.
India and South Africa, the finalists of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup, will compete in four T20Is, starting in Durban on November 8.
India’s Complete Squad for the T20Is Against South Africa
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Jitesh Sharma (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Ramandeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal.
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