Tilak only new face in India T20I squad
Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh has missed out and his non-inclusion had more to do with not having another player for the middle-order, considering that there will be vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik and Sanju Samson.
NEW DELHI: Talented Mumbai Indians left-handed batter Tilak Varma is the only new face in an otherwise tried-and-tested India T20 squad led by Hardik Pandya, which will play five matches against the West Indies, starting August 3 in Trinidad.
Senior batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have not been picked again, an indication that they may be phased out of the team in the shortest format. Hyderabad’s Tilak has been a notable member of the MI side for the past two IPL seasons. His excellent strike-rate of 142 in 47 matches, while predominantly batting at No.4 or 5, has impressed the national selection panel led by Ajit Agarkar.
Kolkata Knight Riders batter Rinku Singh has missed out and his non-inclusion had more to do with not having another player for the middle-order, considering that there will be vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik and Sanju Samson.
Two players who have made international comebacks are pacer Avesh Khan and leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. The team has three wrist-spinners with Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal also being part of the 15-member squad.
SQUAD: Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya (c), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar