Sunrisers Hyderabad pacer Umran Malik has received his maiden India call-up after the Jammu and Kashmir lad has been named in the T20 squad for the five-match series against South Africa at home starting next month, the BCCI announced on Sunday.
Umran has so far picked up 21 wickets in 13 games for Sunrisers Hyderabad in the ongoing IPL 2022 so far but his ability to bowl consistently at 95 miles per hour has caught the imagination of all and sundry.
Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma will lead the Indian team for the fifth rescheduled Test against England but has been rested against South Africa. KL Rahul will lead India in the absence of Rohit in the T20s versus South Africa.
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Hard-hitting middle-order batter Dinesh Karthik, who last played for India in T20s in 2019, has been recalled following his sensational performances in the ongoing IPL 2022. Along with Umran, Punjab Kings' death overs specialist Arshdeep Singh has also earned his maiden national call-up.
Former captain Virat Kohli along with pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami have all been rested for the white-ball series in which Rishabh Pant will be the vice-captain.
Hardik Pandya is making a comeback to the Indian side for the first time since the T20 World Cup last year in UAE. Prasidh Krishna has been added to the Test squad.
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Deepak Hooda and Venkatesh Iyer also retained their place in the squad, despite having a poor run in IPL 2022. Spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal are also included on the back of their performances for the Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals respectively.
Inda were leading the Test series against England 2-1 before the fifth and final Test was postponed following a COVID-19 outbreak on the visiting side. However, there are several changes from the Test squad that took the lead last September.
Shubman Gill has been included in place of Mayank Agarwal while Shreyas Iyer replaces Ajinkya Rahane, who injured himself in the IPL 2022. KS Bharat is the backup wicketkeeper for Rishabh Pant instead of Wriddhiman Saha.
Senior pacer Ishant Sharma, who played in two of the first four Tests, hasn’t been included in the side for the fifth game.
Rohit, Kohli, Bumrah will all fly to England on June 15 for the one-off Test against England at Edgbaston from July 1-5 and will be joined by Cheteshwar Pujara, who has earned a recall to the 17-member Indian Test team after a stupendous show in English County Championship for Sussex.
Squads:
Test Squad Vs England
Rohit Sharma (C), KL Rahul (vice-captain) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.
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T20 Squad vs South Africa
KL Rahul (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain)(wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.4
India’s T20 Fixtures vs South Africa
1st T20 – June 9 - Delhi
2nd T20 – June 12 – Cuttack
3rd T20 – June 14 – Visakhapatnam
4th T20 – June 17 – Rajkot
5th T20 – June 19 – Bengaluru
