Aggressive batsman Suryakumar Yadav, all-rounder Krunal Pandya and pacer M. Prasidh Krishna have received maiden call-ups for the ODI series against England.
The trio was included in the 18-member squad for the three ODIs, starting March 23, announced on Friday.
While Suryakumar walked away with the Man-of-the-Match award in his maiden hit in international cricket during Thursday’s fourth T20I, Krunal, Hardik’s elder brother, has been rewarded for his stellar show in the recently-concluded Vijay Hazare Trophy. Prasidh, who was billed a potential “surprise package” by India captain Virat Kohli last year, has been picked after proving his fitness on the domestic circuit. Besides the trio, the squad wears a different look from the one that took on Australia last year. Pacers Jasprit Bumrah (marriage break), Mohammed Shami (injured) and Navdeep Saini have been excluded along with batsmen Mayank Agarwal, Manish Pandey and Sanju Samson.
Rohit Sharma, who was unfit for the ODI series in Australia, has been recalled along with pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Bhuvneshwar, having regained full fitness and impressed in the ongoing T20I series against England, will thus be the leader of the pace attack that also features T. Natarajan, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj.
The squad: Virat Kohli (Capt.), Rohit Sharma (vice-capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), K.L. Rahul (wk), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, T. Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and Shardul Thakur.
The itinerary (all games in Pune):
First ODI: March 23; Second: March 26; Third: March 28.
All matches start at 1.30 p.m.
