File photo of Sitanshu Kotak.© X (formerly Twitter)

Former India batter Aakash Chopra has questioned the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee over the absence of all-rounder Shivam Dube from the squad for the upcoming T20I series against England. Dube, who was part of the T20 World Cup-winning side last year, has fallen out of favour under the regime of head coach Gautam Gambhir and chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar. Dube travelled to Zimbabwe and Sri Lanka for the T20I series after the World Cup triumph but was ignored for the subsequent home series against Bangladesh, as well as the away tour of South Africa. 

“What happened to Shivam Dube? I wanted to talk about Ruturaj (Gaikwad) as well but he is not able to make his place. Rajat Patidar is also there. Obviously, there is a lot of batting. However, now I am going to focus a little bit on Shivam Dube. He was a member of the T20 World Cup-winning team,” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

“When you win, everyone should get the credit. He even played decently in the final. Before that, there were definitely some questions that he wasn’t fielding or batting well. However, then he played well and became the T20 World Cup champion,” he added.

While it seems that the selectors have decided to zero down on Nitish Kumar Reddy as Hardik Pandya‘s all-rounder, Chopra feels Dube deserved a longer rope in the team, especially with the southpaw playing a crucial role in India’s T20 World Cup triumph.

“After that, he remained injured a little, didn’t get too many opportunities either, and is now out of the team. No one is talking about him as well. Riyan Parag is not being talked about because he is injured but no one is asking where Dube went. He suddenly disappeared from the horizon,” Chopra questioned.

Chopra suggested that even if Dube was out injured for a while, the player should’ve walked straight into the team after recovery.

“If he was good enough to be a part of the World Cup squad, I am sure he would be worthy of playing for another one or two years. He has remained out because of injury, but there was a theory earlier that whoever goes out due to injury, will come back in first, and whoever replaced him would have to sit out no matter what he might have done,” he explained.

File photo of Rishabh Pant

Nearly 14 months after he last played an international game, veteran seamer Mohammed Shami on Saturday returned to the Indian team for the upcoming five-match T20I series against visiting England. The 34-year-old Shami’s last outing for India was the 2023 ODI World Cup final against Australia at Ahmedabad on November 19, after which he was out of the team for a long time due to an ankle injury for which he underwent surgery in the UK last year.

Shami’s rehabilitation process was a long and arduous one and a swelling on his knee then prevented him from joining the Indian team for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia, leaving Jasprit Bumrah to shoulder the bulk of the pace bowling load.

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the 15-member team in the series starting in Kolkata on January 22.

It is understood that Shami has been picked because he will also be a part of the Champions Trophy squad and will be gradually working on his bowling load. He is not going to play all five games against England.

From the team that played against South Africa in an away series in November, Ramandeep Singh was replaced by the find of the BGT trophy, Nitish Kumar Reddy, while Avesh Khan and Yash Dayal made way for Shami and Harshit Rana, respectively.

Wicketkeeper Jitesh Sharma was dropped with Dhruv Jurel making the cut. All the players who were picked for the Bangladesh home rubber and South Africa away series have been dropped because the top T20 stars were back then busy with the red-ball season.

The four spinners in the squad are Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakravarthy and Washington Sundar.

Incidentally, Shubman Gill, who was made the vice-captain after the last T20 World Cup, hasn’t found a place in the team.

Sanju Samson and Yashasvi Jaiswal will open the innings followed by Tilak Varma and skipper Surya.

Hardik Pandya and Rinku Singh are expected to bat at No. 5 five and No. 6, respectively, and they will be followed by Axar in the batting order.

The two pacers for the first couple of games will be Arshdeep Singh and Shami, with Pandya as the third seamer. The two wrist spinners — Chakravarthy and Bishnoi — will come into the equation to complete the expected playing XI.

The T20I series against England starts with the first T20I in Kolkata on January 22, followed by matches in Chennai (Jan 25), Rajkot (Jan 28), Pune (Jan 31) and Mumbai (Feb 2).

India and England will then face off in a three-match ODI series from February 6.

Team: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk). 

The return of Mohammed Shami was the biggest news that came out of the BCCI selection meeting for the India vs England five-T20I series that starts on January 22. Also, Jasprit Bumrah, who led India in the Perth and Sydney Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, has been rested for the forthcoming series against the Three Lions. But there were some other surprises too. 

Suryakumar Yadav will lead the Men in Blue in the five-match series, while, spinner Axar Patel will be the deputy of the 34-year-old. Hardik Pandya is in the squad but he has been ignored.

Youngsters Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Dhruv Jurel have retained their place in the 20-over squad. Seamer Harshit Rana who was in the T20I squad against South Africa but couldn’t make it into the playing eleven has also been named in the 15-member lineup for the upcoming series.

One of the main talking points will be Shami’s inclusion in the Men in Blue squad. The 34-year-old seamer will be donning the blue jersey after 2023.

Last year, Shami returned to domestic cricket with Bengal after undergoing ankle surgery that kept him sidelined for nearly a year. Shami had also been a part of Bengal’s squad for the Vijay Hazare Trophy.

Shami had made an impressive comeback to competitive cricket, having last featured in the ODI World Cup 2023 final. Following ankle surgery and overcoming a series of setbacks, he returned to action for Bengal in a Ranji Trophy match against Madhya Pradesh in November.

Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana and Mohammed Shami will be leading the Indian seam armoury. 

While, Axar Patel, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar will be in charge of the spin attack.

The five-match T20I series will kick off on January 22 in Kolkata. The second and third matches will be held on January 25 and 28 in Chennai and Rajkot, respectively. The fourth game of the series will be played on January 31 in Pune. Mumbai will host the final match of the T20I series on February 2.

India’s squad for the T20I series against England: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (WK), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (VC), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (WK).

With ANI inputs