The BCCI’s selection committee made some major changes to their T20I squad for the upcoming England series on January 11. Mohammed Shami‘s return to the national side was the biggest talking point as India made five changes from their previous T20I squad against South Africa.
India are set to host England in the five-match T20I series and three ODIs starting on January 22. As expected, the management avoided picking the player bound for the ODI series ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will commence in Pakistan on February 22.
Many predicted Shami’s return to international cricket after he proved his fitness with his regular participation in the domestic cricket tournament recently. Apart from Shami, the star all-rounders Washington Sundar and Nitish Reddy, who were part of the recently concluded Border-Gavaskar Trophy, also returned to the T20Is after being rested for the South Africa tour in November 2024.
The 23-year-old pacer Harshit Rana was also included in the team and is expected to make his T20I debut against England. Harshit featured in the two Tests against Australia but struggled to impress with just four wickets in four innings.
Meanwhile, Dhurv Jurel returned to the T20I setup as the wicketkeeping batter alongside first-choice Sanju Samson. Jurel made his debut against Zimbabwe in July last year and has represented India in just two T20Is so far.
Jurel replaced the out-of-form wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma who was part of the South Africa tour but didn’t get a chance to show his worth. The batting all-rounder Ramandeep Singh also failed to make the team after featuring in two T20Is against South Africa.
With Shami and Harshit’s inclusion, the management dropped three fast bowlers Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal from the previous T20I squad. Avesh has featured heavily in India’s T20Is squad in the last couple of years but has produced just 27 wickets in 25 innings with his economy rate poor peeking over 9.
India’s squad for the T20I series against England
Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).
Players IN: Mohammed Shami, Nitish Reddy, Harshit Rana, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel.
Players OUT: Vijaykumar Vyshak, Avesh Khan, Yash Dayal, Ramandeep Singh, Jitesh Sharma.
