India Test, T20I squads named; IPL star Umran Malik gets maiden call-up

Pacemen Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have earned maiden call-ups to the Indian T20I team as the BCCI’s selectors on Sunday (May 22) announced the squad for the five-match home series against South Africa.

The selection committee, headed by Chetan Sharma, has also picked a 17-man India Test squad to play against England in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston, Birmingham, from July 1. India currently leads the Test series 2-1.

Also read: Umran Malik bowls second-fastest ball in IPL history

The T20I squad will be led by KL Rahul as regular captain Rohit Sharma is rested. Virat Kohli too has been handed a break from cricket. However, both are part of the Test line-up.

Dinesh Karthik and Hardik Pandya have returned to the T20I squad while Rishabh Pant has been named as the vice-captain. There is no place for Sanju Samson and Mohammed Siraj.

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Jasprit Bumrah too is rested from T20Is. The injured duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Deepak Chahar are not part of the squad. However, Jadeja is in the Test team.

Right-arm paceman Malik has been making headlines with his pace in the ongoing IPL. He has bowled the second-fastest delivery in the history of IPL while playing for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH). However, his exploits failed to take the team to the playoffs.

He has taken 21 wickets in 13 games as of May 21 and was set to play SRH’s last league game against Punjab Kings (PBKS) on Sunday evening.

Also read: Karthik wants to win T20 World Cup for India

Punjab’s left-arm paceman Arshdeep too has done well in IPL, not only this season but in the previous editions too. In IPL 2022, he has 10 scalps in 13 matches as of May 21. He too was set to feature in Sunday’s contest.

Thanks to his performances in the ongoing IPL, Karthik has returned to the national team. He has played the finisher’s role to perfection for Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

Hardik, who has not played international cricket since November last year due to an injury, has led the Gujarat Titans into the IPL playoffs in its maiden season. He has scored over 400 runs in 14 matches.

In the Test squad, Cheteshwar Pujara has made a comeback after his prolific run for Sussex in the county championships in England.

Rohit will lead the Test team with Rahul as his deputy. Ravichandran Ashwin and Jadeja are the spinners while the fast bowlers are Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Shardul Thakur, Umesh Yadav and Prasidh Krishna.

The five T20Is against South Africa begin in Delhi on June 9.

Test squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), KS Bharat (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna.

T20I squad: KL Rahul (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain and wicketkeeper), Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik.