Picture Credit: Twitter
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Sunday announced the squads for India’s two upcoming assignments, five-match T20I series against South Africa and rescheduled fifth Test against England. While there were no surprises in the Test squad, the T20I squad had a couple of new names.
Arshdeep Singh and Umran Malik have been rewarded for their impactful performances in the 15th edition of the Indian Premier League. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav have also earned a place based on their performance in the league. India’s top all-rounder Hardik Pandya also made a return to the national side after an impressive IPL 2022. Veteran wicketkeeper batter Dinesh Karthik will also be seen in national colors after three long years.
While a lot of players reaped the rewards of their impressive performances in IPL 2022, a few names were missed despite bringing the best in themselves. The notable omissions included Rahul Tripathi and Nitish Rana. Both batters have looked in fine touch while playing for their respective franchises. But it seems the two will have to wait a bit more to don the blue jersey and Nitish Rana is hoping for the same.
The Delhi cricketer shared a cryptic tweet after being left out for the five-match T20I series. “Things will change soon,” tweeted the 27-year-old.
Notably, Rana aggregated 361 runs in 14 games for Kolkata Knight Riders in IPL 2022. He also scored two half-centuries. Rana looked to play with more aggression this season as he scored runs at a strike rate of 143.82. The southpaw also hit 29 fours and 22 sixes in IPL 2022.
India T20I Squad - KL Rahul (Capt), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(VC) (wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, R Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik