Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has announced the return of hard-hitting batter Shreyas Iyer to India’s T20 squad after a gap of nearly two years, while leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi has also been added to the team ahead of the upcoming series against New Zealand.
Shreyas Iyer Back After Injury Setback
Shreyas Iyer has been included in the T20 team as a replacement for injured Tilak Varma and will be available for the first three matches of the five-match series. Iyer had earlier sustained an injury during the ODI series against Australia. So far, he has played 51 T20 internationals, scoring 1,104 runs with the help of eight half-centuries.
Ravi Bishnoi Replaces Washington Sundar
Ravi Bishnoi has been brought into the squad after Washington Sundar was ruled out due to a side strain sustained during the first ODI against New Zealand in Vadodara. Bishnoi last featured in a T20 international against England last year and has taken 61 wickets in 42 T20 matches so far.
Series Schedule and Squad Details
India will face New Zealand in a five-match T20 series as part of preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup. The first match of the series will be played in Nagpur on January 21. The squad includes Suryakumar Yadav (captain), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wicketkeeper), Shreyas Iyer (for first three T20s), Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel (vice-captain), Rinku Singh, Jasprit Bumrah, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Varun Chakravarthy, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), and Ravi Bishnoi.
