Suresh Raina makes his much-awaited comeback into the side as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have announced the 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against South Africa, starting February 18.
The 31-year-old Raina last played a T20I for India against England in February last year.
Meanwhile, Ajinkya Rahane has once again been overlooked for the T20I series.
Also, Jaydev Unadkat gets a ticket to South Africa after performing admirably against Sri Lanka. Unadakat was also awarded the man of the series for his fine show against the Islanders.
The Men in Blue are scheduled to play three T20Is against the Proteas – February 18 in Johannesburg, February 21 in Centurion and February 24 in Cape Town.
India squd:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur