India has announced the squad that will take on Australia in the upcoming limited-overs series and skipper Virat Kohli makes his return while vice-captain Rohit Sharma has been rested.
Kohli along with coach Ravi Shastri and five members of the selection committee headed by MSK Prasad convened to announce this squad after a meeting in the BCCI headquarters that lasted nearly two hours.
The BCCI condemned the "dastardly incident engineering by forces from beyond India" before announcing the squads for the series. BCCI went on to shock everyone by dropping Dinesh Karthik from the ODI squad which has only 15 members.
The team selected for the home series against Australia has direct implications to India's combination for the upcoming 2019 cricket World Cup. The two T20Is and five ODIs will be India's last international assignment before the quadrennial event. Following this series, the players will separate and turn up in their franchise colours for the 12th edition of the Indian Premier League.
The squad selected all but trims down the list of probable players who will make it to the World Cup to 17. The big talking point is the return of KL Rahul to the Indian set up for the first time since he was sent back home and suspended following the Koffee With Karan controversy.
With just about 100 days left for the World Cup to begin, 12 players have more or less booked their tickets to England. According to International Business Times, India and indeed popular belief these are the players who are confirmed of their berths in the World Cup squad – Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (WK), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav.
The remaining three places have caused much deliberation. Among these two spots, one will likely be filled by a fourth seamer and India is yet to finalise on the front because of the lack of consistent performances from the likes of Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammad Siraj, Shardul Thakur and Umesh Yadav. This has caused worry and concern for the selectors and they are trying out for one final time before making a final decision.
In the other free slot, it will be a toss-up between the all-round abilities of Vijay Shankar and the reserve opening ability of KL Rahul who can also bat at number 3.
T20 Squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Sidharth Kaul, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Krunal Pandya, Umesh Yadav, Mayank Markande
Squad for first 2 ODIs: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (WK), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Sidharth Kaul, Mohammed Shami.
Squad for last 3 ODIs: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (WK), Ambati Rayudu, Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Vijay Shankar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
