Rohit, Shami return for NZ T20 series

NEW DELHI: Senior batsman Rohit Sharma and fast bowler Mohammed Shami were recalled to India’s Twenty20 squad for the tour of New Zealand after they were rested for the home series against Sri Lanka.

Sharma and Shami come into the 16-man squad for the five T20 Internationals starting on January 24 in Auckland. India will also play three ODIs and two Tests in New Zealand.

Shami joins a pace attack led by Jasprit Bumrah who returned for the three Sri Lanka T20s, won 2-0 by India after the first game was rained off. All-rounder Hardik Pandya remains sidelined after a back operation in October, the Board of Control for Cricket in India said on Sunday, adding that his “rehabilitation process is taking longer than expected”.

Virat Kohli-led India will play three One-day Internationals against Australia starting Tuesday (today) in Mumbai before flying off to New Zealand.

India T20 squad: Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur.