Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant has been omitted from the India ODI and T20I teams for the upcoming Australian tour. Rohit Sharma, India’s vice white ball captain, who is currently recovering from a hamstring injury at IPL in the UAE, is also not part of both teams.
The mysterious spinner from Tamil Nadu and Kolkata Knight Riders, Varun Chakravarthy, won his first national entry thanks to his stellar performances at the ongoing IPL. Varun is the only player with a five-wicket run so far this season and overall, he’s the Knight Riders’ biggest wicket receiver with 12 strikes at an excellent 7.05 economy rate.
India’s top all-rounder Hardik Pandya will play his first limited international game since September 2019. Pandya underwent back surgery and returned to action in the IPL, although he has yet to bowling this season. According to Zaheer Khan, director of cricket operations for the Mumbai Indians, Pandya was “very interested” in bowling, but the team’s management has taken a cautious approach and used him as a specialized hitter.
In the absence of Sharma, KL Rahul, who is the captain of Kings XI Punjab, has been named substitute for Virat Kohli on both white ball teams. Rahul is the only wicketkeeper on the ODI team, while India has another wicketkeeping option at Sanju Samson for the T20I.
Varun, who had turned 29 just before the 2020 IPL in August, played just 11 T20s before Monday. However, he has seven variations in his repertoire, and his victims in the IPL include David Warner, MS Dhoni, Pant, and Shreyas Iyer. Varun had also been the second-biggest wicket receiver at the 2018-19 Vijay Hazare 50-over Trophy, with 22 scalps in nine matches at a 4.23 economy rate. However, a finger injury, sustained during his first IPL season with the Kings XI Punjab in 2019, forced him out of action for more than a year.
Despite not playing competitive cricket for a year, Dinesh Karthik, the former captain of the Knight Riders and current captain of the Tamil Nadu white ball, kicked it, and the Knight Riders spent INR 4 crore (USD 563,000 approx.) To get it. on board. Varun has rewarded his faith, intensifying when Sunil Narine was included on the IPL warning list, before his action was subsequently clarified. Varun’s Knight Riders teammate Kuldeep Yadav was left out of the T20I team, but was part of the ODI team.
Ravindra Jadeja, who was the Chennai Super Kings spike with the bat but struggled with the ball, was chosen in the two squads of white balls over Axar Patel. Axar’s economy rate of 5.78 is third best among bowlers who have thrown at least 25 more than this IPL. Under this condition, only Rashid Khan and Washington Sundar, who are on the T20I team, have better economy rates.
T20I Squad: Virat Kohli (ch.), Shikhar Dhawan, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul (vice-captain and wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah , Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, Varun Chakravarthy
ODI Squad: Virat Kohli (ch.), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, KL Rahul (vice-cap & wk), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Mayank Agarwal, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami , Navdeep Saini, Shardul Thakur
More to follow …
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