India vs South Africa: No place for MS Dhoni in T20I squad, Hardik Pandya returns
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa on Thursday. It was more or less the same team that played against West Indies in their last series with the only exception being the return of Hardik Pandya. Jasprit Bumrah was not included in the squad with Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed being the specialist fast bowlers. In the spin department, Rahul Chahar, Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar were the preferred choices.
Pandya was included in place of fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
MS Dhoni was not included in the squad as India continue to persist with Rishabh Pant as the specialist wicket-keeper. Dhoni had taken a break from the sport following the conclusion of the team’s campaign in the ICC World Cup 2019 that was held in England and in that period, he joined the 106 TA Battalion (Para) in Jammu.
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Dhoni, who holds an honorary title of Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army, started his stint with the battalion on July 31 and concluded it on August 15.
The Indian cricket team completed a 3-0 whitewash against West Indies in their last T20I series with Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Krunal Pandya being the top performers. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma contributed well with the bat but the young bowling line-up impressed everyone with their performances.
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Saini, who made his debut during the series, was the top wicket-taker with 5 while Chahar took three wickets in the final encounter. Krunal contributed with both bat and ball and was one of the main factors behind India’s dominant show.
India’s squad for 3 T20Is against South Africa: Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini
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