KOLKATA: Virat Kohli has returned to the T20I squad for the series against the West Indies after opting out of the three matches in this format against Bangladesh. India will face the Caribbeans in three T20Is and as many ODIs next month. Kohli will take over as captain from Rohit Sharma. The big news in the T20I squad is the comeback of Mohammed Shami. One of India’s top performers in Tests and ODIs, the fast bowler played the last of his seven T20Is in 2017.
Form and fitness, he has turned things around on many fronts to emerge as Kohli’s chief destroyer in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah. His return means the selectors are looking at him as an option before zeroing in on the probables for the 2020 World T20.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar is the other comeback man in the 15-member squads. The medium- pacer was not part of the sides that played against South Africa and Bangladesh. Khaleel Ahmed and Shardul Thakur have been dropped. Krunal Pandya, Sanju Samson and Rahul Chahar are the other players omitted from the last squad. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja are also back. The first T20I will be played on December 6.
T20I squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. ODI squad: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Risbhabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.