Deepak Hooda Credits India A Performance For National Call-Up

This season has come up with a double bonanza for Deepak Hooda. Firstly, he was appointed as the regular captain of Baroda Ranji team and second good news came soon after in the form of a national call-up for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

(Read Here: India’s Test squad for South Africa series)

Right from his debut in first-class debut in 2014, he made sounds and showed his prowess for India U19 before that. He didn’t get many chances for Rajasthan Royals in IPL 2014 but banked on the opportunities next year, where he scored 151 runs for his side at a strike rate of 158.94. He became a permanent member of Sunrisers Hyderabad from next season onwards and in 2016, he drew limelight in Ranji Trophy when he played an innings of 293*  against Punjab in Delhi.

“The excitement level is very high as getting a chance to represent the country is nothing less than a dream come true for me and my family. Wearing the Indian jersey is something I have been waiting for. I believe, it was my performance for India A which has been awarded now,” he told Indianexpress.com

His performances in domestic cricket last season brought Hooda in the eyes of selectors and from then, he banked on the success thus making it to the Indian team. He was with the India A side that travelled to South Africa and was also named in the squad for New Zealand A series, where he performed decently.

(Read Here: India’s T20I squad for Sri Lanka series)

Deepak Hooda will have a direct race with another new face, Washington Sundar, for that all-rounder spot and Sundar is expected to get nod initially.

Other than Hooda and Sundar, Basil Thampi is the other new face in the squad. He also impressed during IPL 2017 and was one of the players who went to South Africa with the India A side.

Jaydev Unadkat has also registered a comeback in the side, and he would be looking to make most of the opportunities that he will get.

India T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat.

(Read Here: Malinga, Chandimal to be overlooked for India ODIs)

(Read Here: Want to perform well for my country: Washington Sundar)

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