In light of skipper Virat Kohli stepping down from his T20I captaincy duties, BCCI has named Rohit Sharma as Team India’s new captain for the format. The explosive opener was given the role as the board announced India’s 16-member squad for three T20Is against New Zealand in November.
On the other hand, crucial players have been rested including the likes of Virat Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami and Hardik Pandya.
After some prolific recent performances, KL Rahul has been rewarded with vice-captaincy. Other highlights of the squad include debut calls for IPL finds Kolkata Knight Rider’s explosive batsman Venkatesh Iyer and Royal Challengers Bangalore’s bowler Harshal Patel, who was IPL 2021’s leading wicket-taker. Another IPL performer in the squad is Delhi Capital’s Avesh Khan.
A significant re-entry is Yuzvendra Chahal after being left out of the T20 World Cup squad. He will strengthen the spin contingent alongside Ravi Ashwin and Axar Patel. IPL 2021’s leading run scorer Ruturaj Gaikwad of Chennai Super Kings will also return. T20 WC’s backup player Shreyas Iyer is also a part of the squad.
