New Delhi: Vice captain Virat Kohli was today rested for the upcoming Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka as selectors included all-rounder Pawan Negi for the three-match rubber, beginning February 9.
Kohli was in supreme form in the just-concluded Australia T20 series, where he scored 199 runs at an average of 199 with three half-centuries.
Kohli has played 10 One-dayers and five T20s apart from four Test matches from the month of October to end of January.
Roookie all-rounder Negi, who has played under MS Dhoni for the Chennai Super Kings in IPL, and had a reasonably successful Mushytaq Ali and Deodhar trophy, has been brought as a cover for Ravindra Jadeja.
Manish Pandey has also been rewarded for his match-winning century in the Sydney ODI against Australia as the selectors named him in the 15-member T20 squad.
The selection panel chose to drop Rishi Dhawan, Gurkeerat Mann and Umesh Yadav from the squad. All three had not struggled during the Australia tour, failing to put up any notable performance.
Making a comeback was paceman Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who had missed the T20 series after injuring himself during the ODIs.
The selectors also named the squads for the women’s limited over series against Sri Lanka, to be led by Mithali Raj.
The series will begin in Pune (February 9) and followed by matches in Ranchi (February 12) and Visakhapatnam (February 14).
The eves had scripted history by defeating three-time world champions Australia in a T20 series, which was held simultaneously with the men’s series.
The women’s ODI series is scheduled to be played in Ranchi from February 15 to 19 while the three-match T20 series will be held from February 22-26.
Squads:
T20I Team (Men): MS Dhoni (Captain), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Pawan Negi.
(PTI)
