India name ODI squad for England series; Prasidh Krishna, Suryakumar, Krunal earn maiden call-ups

Mumbai: Karnataka pacer Prasidh Krishna, all-rounder Krunal Pandya and batsman Suryakumar Yadav earned their maiden ODI call-up as India on Friday named an 18-player squad for the upcoming three-match series against England, to be played in Pune.

The All-India Senior Selection Committee, led by Chetan Sharma, rewarded Krishna and Krunal for their good performances in the recently held Vijay Hazare Trophy, while Suryakumar’s selection was not a surprise after he scored a 31-ball 57 in the fourth T20I against England on Thursday.

Prasidh, who has played for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL, picked up 14 wickets in seven matches at an average of 24.5 of the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Suryakumar, also did well in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, accumulating 332 runs in five matches at an average of 66.40, including a century and two fifties.

All-rounder Krunal, who has played 18 T20Is in the past, scored two unbeaten centuries and two fifties for Baroda in the domestic 50-over tournament recently.

Stupmer-batsman Rishabh Pant and pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar are back in the side and so is Washington Sundar, who played his only ODI in December 2017.

Bhuvneshwar’s most recent ODI was in 2019, thanks largely to a run of injuries. He will lead the pace attack in the absence of the rested Jasprit Bumrah, who recently got married.

Meanwhile, Prithvi Shaw and Devdutt Padikkal, the top-two run-getters in the Vijay Hazare Trophy and both openers, haven’t made the cut, with several opening options already available. Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill and KL Rahul are the other openers in the team.

Left-arm pacer T Natarajan has regained fitness and finds a place in the squad after missing the first four T20Is against England. Mohammed Siraj and Shardul Thakur are the other pacers in the squad.

Ravindra Jadeja who is still on the road to full fitness since picking up an injury in Australia, has not been included.

Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sudar and Krunal are the spin options available for India for the ODI series.

Manish Pandey, Mayank Agarwal, Sanju Samson, Navdeep Saini and Mohammed Shami are the ones missing from the ODI team that was picked for the Australia tour.

The three ODIs, scheduled for March 23, 26 and 28, will be held at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune.

India’s ODI squad: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), KL Rahul (wicket-keeper), Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, T Natarajan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Md. Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Shardul Thakur. (UNI)