MS Dhoni was the biggest name missing from the team sheet as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the T20I series against Australia in November. Virat Kohli will be leading the side with Rohit Sharma as his deputy.
The experienced Dhoni retired from Test cricket following the Boxing Day Test against Australia in 2014, but has featured consistently for India in one-day and T20 cricket ever since.
One of the BCCI official said that the selectors would want a second wicket-keeper groomed ahead of the World Cup. Hence, Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will don the gloves in Dhoni’s place.
KL Rahul is the third opener in the 16-man squad. Either of Shreyas Iyer or Manish Pandey could get an opportunity in the middle order. Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are the two spinners and Krunal Pandya, who is better capable with the bat get a nod ahead of Ravindra Jadeja. Young Washington Sundar is the other all-rounder named in the squad.
While Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah are expected to be the front-line seamers, they are backed up by Umesh Yadav and the left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed.
India squad for the T20I series against Australia:
Virat Kohli (c), Rohit (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.
