Uncapped Aravind, Gurkeerat named in India squads for South Africa series

Bengaluru, Sep 20: Uncapped left-arm paceman S Aravind and all-rounder Gurkeerat Singh Mann were the two new faces in the Indian limited overs squads announced today for the South Africa series at home.

Series schedule

MS Dhoni, who had retired from Test cricket last December, will continue to lead the limited overs squads. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja and paceman Dhawal Kulkarni, who were in Bangladesh tour, have been dropped.

Karnataka's S Aravind is named in the Twenty20 International squad while Gurkeerat is selected for the first 3 One Day Internationals.

"The All-India Senior Selection Committee met earlier today in Bengaluru to announce the India teams for three (3) T20 Internationals and the first three One-day Internationals against South Africa," the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said in a media release on Sunday (September 20).

The selection committee, headed by Sandeep Patil, today met in Bengaluru to pick the squads.

Patil put to rest all the speculation of change in captaincy for ODIs. "We have not discussed anything about captaincy of ODIs. We are very happy in the manner Dhoni has led the side and we have total backing for Dhoni during the upcoming series," Patil said after the selection panel's meeting.

"We have always discussed the forthcoming World T20. We have also discussed the possibilities and the performances of players and who all will be useful," Patil added.

About Gurkeerat's selection, Patil said, "We have kept in mind his all-round abilities and his recent performances. He is an exciting youngster. The 'A' series has gone well and we as selectors are happy that a lot of exciting youngsters are coming up," said Patil.

The 25-year-old right-handed Gurkeerat recently impressed with the Rahul Dravid coached India A teams against Australia A and Bangladesh A. He hit a half century and took 5 wickets in the opening One-Dayer of the 3-match series against Bangladesh A in Bengaluru. Aravind, 31, had taken 3 wickets in the same game, which India A won by 96 runs.

Fast bowler Mohammed Shami is not included in both squads as he continues rehabilitation work on his injured knee. Ishant Sharma, who was in top form during the Sri Lanka Test series, missed out.

Veteran off-spinner Harbhajan Singh is in the T20I squad while R Ashwin, Amit Mishra and Axar Patel are the other 2 specialist spinners in the team.

South Africa will play 3 T20Is, 5 ODIs and 4 Tests during their tour to India, which starts with the T20Is on October 2.

India squads

T20Is: MS Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, S Aravind.

For first 3 ODIs: MS Dhoni (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.

Dropped: Ravindra Jadeja, Dhawal Kulkarni

New entrants: Gurkeerat Singh Mann, S Aravind

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