The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian squad for the bilateral ODI series to be played in England.
Mohammad Shami and Ajinkya Rahane have been dropped from the team for the all-important tour to England, while Ambati Rayudu, KL Rahul and Washington Sundar have been included for the three-match series starting 12 July.
32-year-old Rayudu, who last played an ODI during India’s tour to Zimbabwe in June 2016, has found his way back into the Indian dressing room on the back of his recent performances in the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Another player who finds himself in the ODI squad is Siddarth Kaul, who has been a crucial part of Sunrisers Hyderabad successful campaign in the ongoing IPL. He was picked for the ODI series against Sri Lanka at home but didn’t get to play.
On the other hand, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur and Axar Patel – who were in the Indian team for the South Africa series – have been excluded by the All-India Senior Selection Committee.
The three-match ODI series starts at Trent Bridge on July 12. The second ODI will be played at Lord’s on July 14 before the third ODI at Headingley on July 17.
India Team for ODI series:
Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav