Nidahas Trophy 2018: Indian squad for T20 tri-series announced

BCCI has announced a 15-man squad for Nidahas Trophy, a T20 tri-series which will be played in Sri Lanka with Bangladesh being the third team. Full-time skipper Virat Kohli has been rested for the series and Rohit Sharma will be leading the side in his absence. Shikhar Dhawan has been named the vice-captain.

Moreover, MS Dhoni had requested for a break as well and the selection committee agreed to it. Therefore, either Rishabh Pant or Dinesh Karthik will don the wicketkeeper gloves during the series.

“We’ve kept in mind the workload and upcoming schedule while finalizing the team for Nidahas Trophy. The high-performance team has suggested that adequate rest should be given to our fast bowlers to help improve athletic performance, maximize rest and prevent injury,” MSK Prasad, Chairman of Selection Committee, said.

“Mr MS Dhoni was not available for selection as he had requested for rest,” he added.

While Suresh Raina has regained his place, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Hardik Pandya have been rested. Kuldeep Yadav, on the other hand, misses out due to an injury.

15-man squad: Rohit Sharma (Capt), Shikhar Dhawan (vc), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj, Rishabh Pant (wk)

The first match of the series will be played between India and Sri Lanka on 6th March, followed by the clash between India and Bangladesh on 8th. The hosts will then play Bangladesh on 10th of the month before all the three teams play each other again. The final will be played on 18th March.

All the matches will be played in Colombo, at R Premadasa Stadium.