No Kohli and Dhoni as Rohit Sharma named captain in India’s 15-man squad for T20I tri-series

India rested skipper Virat Kohli and wicket-keeper MS Dhoni for the three-nation Twenty20 International tri-series in Sri Lanka while Rohit Sharma will lead the team out in Sri Lanka.

Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik made their way back to the limited-overs setup while all-rounder Vijay Shankar earned his place in the team in the expense of Hardik Pandya, who another notable absentee in the 15-man squad announced by the Board of Control for Cricket in India on Sunday.

In Dhoni’s absence, hard-hitting Delhi youngster Rishabh Pant makes a comeback to the side. Baroda batsman Deepak Hooda got his first India call-up on the back of some impressive performances in domestic cricket, especially in the shorter formats. Young all-rounder Washingon Sundar, who made his debut against Sri Lanka at home also got the nod.

Pandya, whose batting form faded in South Africa, was also given time away from the team. Suresh Raina, who recently made an international comeback after a year, has been retained after impressing in the T20I series against South Africa. First-choice pacers Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar will also not feature in the series as the selectors handed the reins to Mumbai’s Shardul Thakur, left-armer Jaydev Unadkat and rookie.

Leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal will play but his partner-in-crime, Kuldeep Yadav continues to be on the sidelines following an injury he suffered in South Africa, forcing him to miss all the T20 games after a sterling display in the One-day Internationals.

Former captain Dhoni had requested for a break ahead of the series, which also features Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The series will start on March 6 and the final is scheduled to be held on March 18. All the games will be played in Colombo. “We’ve kept in mind the workload and upcoming schedule while finalising the team for Nidahas Trophy,” Chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said.

“The high-performance team has suggested that adequate rest should be given to our fast bowlers to help improve athletic performance, maximize rest and prevent injury. MS Dhoni was not available for selection as he had requested for rest,” he added.

Squad:

Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk)