BCCI on Friday announced a solid 18-man squad for the three-match ODI series against England, starting from March 23rd. Following his heroics against England in the 4th T20I, Mumbai batsman Suryakumar Yadav has been named in India’s ODI squad as well. Young sensational players Krunal Pandya and Prasidh Krishna have been finally rewarded for their brilliant performance in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020.
Baroda captain Krunal Pandya and Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna have secured a break into the national squad for the first time. Apart from these players, senior paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, T Natarajan, Mohammed Siraj has also returned in to the team while fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been rested for the series.
Krishna was impressive in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and picked up 14 wickets from 7 games at an average of 22.21. His best bowling 4/17 against Bihar in Bengaluru. Krunal Pandya, on the other hand, who captained Baroda in the tournament, topped the batting charts for the team with 388 runs in 5 matches with 2 centuries and 2 half-centuries at an average of 129.33 and a strike-rate of 117.93. His highest score was 133* against Chhattisgarh in Surat. Krunal also picked 5 wickets with a best of 3/62.
Ravindra Jadeja, who suffered a dislocated thumb during the Test series against Australia, remains on the sidelines for a few more weeks. Mohammad Shami has also been rested.
Among others, the likes of Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal, who impressed heavily with the bat in the Vijay Hazare Trophy will have to wait for their chances as the selectors are unlikely to bring in too many new faces with the T20 World Cup 2021 in focus. India’s top-order is pretty much settled with the likes of Kohli, Rohit, KL Rahul.
The ODI series will begin on March 23 and the second and third matches will be played on March 26 and 28. All three matches will be played at the MCA stadium in Pune, Maharashtra, likely behind closed doors due to the COVID-19 cases spike in Maharashtra.
India ODI Squad – Virat Kohli (Capt), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Y Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, W Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur.