India Squad For Sri Lanka T20Is Announced

Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda earned their maiden national call-up while Jaydev Unadkat made a comeback in the national side after a period of one and a half year, for the T20I series against Sri Lanka.

First talking of Sundar, signed in as a replacement of R Ashwin by Rising Pune Supergiant during IPL, the all-rounder impressed the most at knockout stages. In the first qualifier, he bowled a spell of 4-0-16-3 against Mumbai Indians thus helping his side to qualify for the finals. In the final, he bowled an economical spell of 4-0-13-0 but his side fell short by just one run from lifting the title.

A former U19 player, Sundar was part of Ishan Kishan led side that ended up as the runner-up of U19 World Cup last year. He could have been still playing U19 cricket but the policy of BCCI to not allow players play two U19 World Cup meant that he was confined to just senior leagues, which has now seen him earning his maiden national call-up.

Basil Thampi, Kerala and Gujarat Lions pacer, is the second player to be selected on basis of IPL performance. He impressed with 11 wickets in IPL but went for 9.49 runs per over. It was his ability to keep the batsman tight during last overs which impressed the selectors and helped him to get an India A call-up for the tour of South Africa. He will be playing for Kerala in the Ranji quarterfinal but his stateside would miss his services in the semi-final if they win the knockout game.

Talking of Deepak Hooda, he has impressed in IPL and domestic cricket as well. The Baroda all-rounder was also part of the team that toured South Africa with India A. He was also part of India A side to face New Zealand A where he scored two half-centuries. Recently appointed as the captain of Baroda Ranji team, Hooda has been roped in to play the role of a spin bowling all-rounder.

Jayde Unadkart has made his comeback to the side after a period of a year and a half. He last played an international game in 2016 against Zimbabwe under MS Dhoni, which was his debut T20I game. Unadkat was the second highest wicket-taker in IPL with 24 scalps alongside his name, thus earning a national recall.

Virat Kohli has been given an extended rest for the series and he will next appear in international cricket next month against South Africa. ODI stand-in captain Rohit Sharma will lead the team.

Regulars like KL Rahul, MS Dhoni, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Hardi Pandya, Japsit Bumrah have been retained while Mohammed Siraj, who was called in for T20I series against New Zealand, is also part of the team.

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The three T20Is of the series – the last leg of Sri Lanka’s stay in India – will be played in Cuttack, Indore and Mumbai.

Here is the squad – 

Rohit Sharma (Capt), KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Basil Thampi, Jaydev Unadkat.

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