BCCI unveils India T20I squad for New Zealand tour

Mumbai: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the Indian Twenty20 International squad for the tour of New Zealand.

On Sunday night (January 12), BCCI secretary Jay Shah, unveiled the 16-man squad led by Virat Kohli. Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami have returned for the five-match series starting on January 24. Wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson has been dropped.

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“The All-India Senior Selection Committee met in Mumbai today to pick the Indian Cricket Team for the upcoming T20I series against New Zealand. India are set to play 5 T20Is starting from 24th January,” BCCI said in a media advisory.

The advisory also said all-rounder Vijay Shankar has replaced Hardik Pandya in the India A squad for New Zealand tour.

“Vijay Shankar has been included in the India A squad for New Zealand since Hardik Pandya's rehabilitation process is taking longer than expected,” BCCI said.

Rohit was rested for the home T20I series against Sri Lanka. Now, he is back in the squad. India had won the three-match rubber against the islanders 2-0 with one game being washed out.

During their tour of New Zealand, India play five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests. The tour ends on February 29 with the second and final Test.

India’s T20I squad

Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur.

India-New Zealand T20I series schedule