Star batsman Virat Kohli, who was rested for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, has been brought back for the two tournaments.
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Mumbai: Former captain Sunil Gavaskar feels including injury-prone pacer Mohammed Shami in India’s Twenty World Cup squad is a bit of risk but the team announced today has “terrific balance”. Mohammed Shami, who had not played an worldwide match for close to 11 months, was selected along with Pawan Negi, who might get a chance to feature in the Indian team for the series against Sri Lanka.
A brilliant clean sweep against Australia ensured that the core of the team was left untouched by the selectors, who opted to retain veterans like Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra.
Other notable inclusion is Mohd Shami while Ishant Sharma and Umesh Yadav are omitted.
The Asia Cup begins on February 24 in Bangladesh while the World T20 kicks off on March 08 in India. When selectors pick a team, we always give importance to domestic performance.
Deepti was part of the team that won the T20I series 2-1 in Australia, taking 1 for 13 on her debut in the third game of the series.
R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the first-choice spinners, and the men now serving as cover for them are Harbhajan Singh and the uncapped left-arm spinner Negi.
Patil expressed his faith in Dhoni’s leadership despite the recent mixed run. “That’s what we know right now”.
Mohammad Shami last played for India in the 2015 World Cup in March.
23-year-old Negi has performed brilliantly at the domestic circuit from a very long time and his ticket to the Asia Cup team and World T20 team is a reward to that.
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MS Dhoni (captain & wicketkeeper), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi. Dhoni’s men are being touted as favourites to win the ICC World T20 2016.
