Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma called up to India T20I squad; Samson returns

Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma have received maiden call-ups to India’s T20I squad for the five-match T20I series against the West Indies whereas Sanju Samson also makes a return to the 15-man squad, announced by Ajit Agarkar-led selection panel, on Wednesday.

Hardik Pandya will continue to lead India’s T20I team whereas Suryakumar Yadav has been named as the vice-captain of the team. Senior players like Virat Kohli and full-time skipper Rohit Sharma have been once again sidelined from the T20I team.

Avesh Khan and Mukesh Kumar have been added to the squad while players like Jitesh Sharma, Nitish Rana, Rinku Singh, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been ignored. Moreover, Rahul Tripathi, Prithvi Shaw, Jitesh Sharma, Washington Sundar, and Shivam Mavi, who were part of the series against New Zealand, have also been sidelined.

Meanwhile, both Jaiswal and Varma had impressed in IPL 2023 while playing for Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians respectively. Jaiswal scored 625 runs in 14 IPL matches in the 16th season of the tournament at an average of 48.08 and an impressive strike rate of 163.61. Ergo, he was awarded Emerging Player of the Season.

On the other hand, Tilak Varma amassed 343 runs at an average of close to 43, striking his runs at 164.11 in IPL 2023.

Arshdeep Singh makes a return to the T20I squad whereas Ravi Bishnoi and Umran Malik have been also included in the 15-man squad.

India’s T20I squad: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Surya Kumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar.

India will play two Test matches and three ODIs against West Indies before the five-match T20I series. The first T20I will be played in Trinidad on August 3.