Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah and KL Rahul will be back playing for India again when they take on Australia in a series of two T20Is and five ODIs starting February 24.
While those three players will be available for each of the seven matches, frontline fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been picked only for the final three that round of Australia’s tour. Similarly, Kuldeep Yadav is not part of the T20I squad with Mumbai Indians’ legspinner Mayank Markande taking his place.
Rishabh Pant‘s stocks have risen after excellent showings for India A in 2018 and a couple of Test centuries in England and Australia. The 20-year old found a place in all three squads announced on Saturday, and with Dinesh Karthik not in contention to play these ODIs – the last that India play before the World Cup – Pant seems to have cemented his spot as back-up wicketkeeper to MS Dhoni.
T20 squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Vijay Shankar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Sidharth Kaul, Mayank Markande
ODI squad for first two games: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Vijay Shankar, Rishabh Pant, Siddharth Kaul, KL Rahul
ODI squad for remaining three games: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Vijay Shankar, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant
More to follow