Comeback for Yuvraj, Rishabh Pant makes cut

Mumbai: Virat Kohli was formally appointed as the skipper of the ODI and T20 team as the selectors chose to look back at Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra and also blooded in a youngster in the form of Rishabh Pant in the T20 squad.

Karnataka batsman K.L. Rahul was included in both formats in place of injured Mumbai batsman Rohit Sharma. Shikhar Dhawan was also recalled in ODIs in place of Mandeep Singh. Mandeep however made it to the T20 squad. Suresh Raina failed to make it to ODI squad yet again but was retained for Twenty20 matches.

Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who didn’t feature during the New Zealand ODI series also were included in both formats and will lead the Indian spin attack with leg spinner Amit Mishra for support in ODIs and Yuzvendra Chahal in T20I’s. Bhuvneshwar Kumar was also recalled in place of injured pacer Dhawal Kulkarni.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, after almost a decade at the helm, will play only as keeper-batsman. Kedar Jadhav and Manish Pandey retained their place in both formats so did pacers Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav and all-rounder Hardik Pandya.

There were fitness concerns over certain players especially Dhawan, Bhuvi, Rahane, Nehra and Pandya who are coming back after injuries and haven’t played much cricket. But chairman of selectors MSK Prasad informed that all players were selected after clearing the fitness test at NCA.

Yuvraj’s last ODI was against South Africa at Centurion in December 2013. He though played his last T20I versus Australia in Mohali last March.  He is currently featuring in the DY Patil T20 Cup here.

“Yuvraj did extremely well in domestic cricket, which has been appreciated. He scored a double hundred (260) and 177 in tough conditions. We have given him due chance,” Prasad reasoned.  Yuvraj scored 672 runs in five matches at an average of 84 in the Ranji Trophy before taking break for his marriage.

Nehra, who underwent surgery after sustaining an injury during IPL will also make a comeback. Chahal who played three ODIs and three T20Is during the last Zimbabwe series was recalled as spinners Axar Patel and Jayant Yadav are injured. He replaces Mishra in T20 squad.

The 19-year-old aggressive Delhi wicket-keeper batsman Pant was the fresh face. The southpaw scored 972 runs in Ranji Trophy at an astonishing strike-rate of 107.28 across nine games which included a triple hundred and the fastest first-class hundred in Indian cricket.

“This is the best possible team we have. We have gone through records in domestic cricket also. We have given chance to couple of youngsters, as there isn’t much Twenty20 cricket after this. That’s why we backed Pant and Mandeep who didn’t get chance last time,” Prasad said.

Players making a comeback after injury and bereft of match practice will also feature in at least one warm-up game out of the two scheduled at Brabourne Stadium on January 10 and 12. The selectors announced the squads for warm-up games as well. Dhoni will lead the side in the first game while Rahane will take over in the second warm-up game. “MSD is the best man to look after youngsters,” added Prasad.

The three-match ODI series starts on January 15 in Pune and will be the only 50-over matches before the Champions Trophy in England. The selectors named the squad keeping in mind the Champions Trophy and included consistent performers in both teams with the exception of Rahane.