Pant rested from India squad for T20s with Bangladesh
Star India wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant has been rested for a three-match T20 series against Bangladesh in October.
Pant, who returned to Test cricket after 21 months with a blistering century in Chennai, has been given time off ahead of a three-Test series against New Zealand later in October.
Test regulars Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Axar Patel, Mohammed Siraj and Khaleel Ahmed have also been left out of the T20 squad ahead of the New Zealand series.
They were all part of India’s new-look T20 team under skipper Suryakumar Yadav in Sri Lanka.
Pacer Mayank Yadav, who impressed in last season’s Indian Premier League for Lucknow Super Giants, has been called-up. India coach Gautam Gambhir was the Giants’ mentor when Yadav made his mark with seven wickets in four matches for Lucknow.
Allrounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who also grabbed headlines for Sunrisers Hyderabad, has been selected after missing the Zimbabwe T20 series because of injury.
Left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma, who scored a maiden T20 hundred against Zimbabwe, returns to the squad after missing out on the Sri Lanka tour.
Spinner Varun Chakravarthy gets a first call-up since the Twenty20 World Cup in 2021. Pacer Harshit Rana and wicketkeeper-batter Jitesh Sharma are also in the squad.
Sanju Samson, who was part of India’s 2024 T20 World Cup-winning squad, will be first-choice keeper-batter in Pant’s absence.
The three T20s will be played on October 6, 9 and 12 in Guwahati, Delhi and Hyderabad, respectively.
India squad: Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, JItesh Sharma, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.
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