The BCCI on Friday night announced the squad for the upcoming 4-match T20I series between IND and SA, and not minus a few surprises. As expected, Suryakumar Yadav was named the skipper of the side, while no vice-captain was named. The usual suspects made the squad with ease, including — Rinku Singh, Arshdeep Singh, Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel. The others, could be considered surprises in a way.
Sanju Samson & Varun Chakravarthy Retain Spots
Excellent displays in the series against Bangladesh saw Sanju Samson and Varun Chakravarthy getting retained in India’s T20I squad. It must be mentioned, that Sanju is fresh from ton against BAN, that he scored in Hyderabad. On the other hand, Chakravarthy returned with five wickets in three matches from the series. In fact, Yash Dayal was brought in too, who hasn’t made his India debut till now.
Vijaykumar Vyshak & Ramandeep Singh Get Maiden Call-ups
After impressing in the Duleep Trophy, now Karnataka pacer Vijaykumar Vyshak has been included in the team for the very first time. In the IPL, he has played 11 matches and bagged 13 wickets, while in the T20s overall, he has 42 wickets from 30 matches. On the other hand, KKR boy Ramandeep Singh was also given a chance, who is currently playing in the Emerging Asia Cup T20. In his 20-match IPL career, he has scored 175 runs at an average of 28, and even picked up 6 wickets.
Injuries to Mayank Yadav & Riyan Parag
But the 156 kmph speedster Mayank Yadav, who made his debut vs Bangladesh recently, is injured again and was not picked for the IND vs SA squad. In the three matches, he had picked four wickets, and impressed with his consistent bowling. Similar is the case with all-rounder Riyan Parag, who was unavailable for selection due to chronic shoulder problem.
IND vs SA Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (WK), Rinku Singh, Tilak Varma, Jitesh Sharma (WK), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Ramandeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal.