Yuvraj makes comeback, Pant gets T20 nod

Veteran Yuvraj Singh made a comeback to the Indian team, while Virat Kohli took over the captaincy from Mahendra Singh Dhoni, for the forthcoming three-match ODI and T20I series against England, starting in Pune, on January 15.

The selection meeting was delayed by nearly two and half hours because of ‘logistical issues’ as was claimed by a BCCI official on Friday.

Yuvraj, 35, last played for India in an ODI three years back, against South Africa at Centurion in December 2013. The veteran made his comeback to both the ODI and T20 teams on the back of his fine showing in domestic cricket, scoring 672 runs in five matches at an average of 84, with two centuries and two fifties.

"We have selected the best possible team which can give us the best possible result, Chief Selector MSK Prasad, said at a press briefing on Friday.

"Yuvraj Singh has performed well at the domestic level and we must appreciate that," he added.

KL Rahul, who scored a magnificent 199 in the fifth and final Test match against England in Chennai, was also included in both the teams.

Shikhar Dhawan, who missed the New Zealand ODI series because of injury, also makes a comeback despite a below-par showing in three matches for Delhi in Ranji Trophy.

However, there is no place for Suresh Raina in the ODI squad, but he made it to the three-match T20 team, which follows the ODI series.

Delhi’s batting sensation Rishabh Pant, who is the fourth highest scorer in Ranji Trophy this season with 972 runs in eight matches, was included in the T20 squad despite the presence of Mahendra Singh Dhoni.

What has been impressive about Pant has been his strike rate of 107 in domestic cricket, having hit four centuries and two fifties.

Off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin, who was rested for the New Zealand ODI series, makes a comeback to both the ODI and T20 squads along with Ravindra Jadeja.

Veteran Ashish Nehra made it to the T20 squad along with leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal.

The first ODI will be played on 15 January at Pune, followed by ODIs at Cuttack (19 January) and Kolkata (22 January).  

The 3-match T20I series will then be played at Kanpur (26 January), Nagpur (29 January) and Bengaluru (1 February).

India squad for England ODIs: Virat Kohli (Capt), MS Dhoni (wk), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Harish Pandya , R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Amit Mishra, Jaspreet Bumrah, Bhuvaneswar Kumar, Umesh Yadav

India squad for England T20Is: Virat Kohli (Capt), MS Dhoni (wk), Mandeep Singh, KL Rahul, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Rishabh Pant, Haresh Pandya, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Manish Pandey, Jaspreet Bumrah, Bhuvaneswar Kumar, Ashish Nehra