IND vs SA | Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan return for South Africa ODIs
The Indian trio of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shikhar Dhawan, all of who missed the first two months of international action owing to injuries, have been included in the ODI squad to face South Africa. Rohit Sharma continues to miss out, while Prithvi Shaw retains his place in the squad.
The Indian selectors, on Sunday, named the 15-man squad to take on South Africa in the three-match ODIs that starts March 12, and the series will foresee the comeback of the injured trio of Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, and Shikhar Dhawan. Pandya, who last featured in a T20I against South Africa in September, missed out on five months of cricketing action due to a back surgery he underwent, while Dhawan and Bhuvi, who also were nursing injuries, missed a majority of the first two months of international action in 2020. The trio proved their fitness by participating in the recently-concluded DY Patil T20 competition in Mumbai.
Kedar Jadhav and Mayank Agarwal, both of who featured in the ODI series against New Zealand, have been left out, while Manish Pandey and Prithvi Shaw have retained their places in the squad. The selection panel has also named three spinners - Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, and Kuldeep Yadav - for the ODIs. Rishabh Pant, who last featured in an ODI against Australia in Wankhede in January, also retains his spot. Youngster Shubman Gill also finds a place in the 15-man squad.
On the pace bowling front, the selectors have opted to go against the general notion of resting Jasprit Bumrah and have decided to pick the pacer for the three-match series. Interestingly, Muhammad Shami and Shardul Thakur, both of who did not have the greatest of series in New Zealand, have been left out, while tearaway quick Navdeep Saini retains his place in the side.Â
The first of the three ODIs will be played at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium, Dharamsala on March 12.Â
Squad: India’s ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (C), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill.