No Dhoni, Bhuvi, Bumrah for T20Is vs South Africa, Hardik Returns

MS Dhoni and Jasprit Bumrah do not feature in the 15-man squad.

(Photo: AP)

All-rounder Hardik Pandya makes a comeback while senior pro MS Dhoni and pacer duo Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar do not feature in Team India’s 15-man squad for the three-match T20 series against South Africa on home soil.

The selectors announced the Virat Kohli-led squad on Thursday, 29 August.

Team

Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Rahul Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini.

Apart from the exclusion of Bhuvneshwar, the team wears a similar look to the one that blanked the West Indies 3-0 in the recent series in the United States and in the Caribbean.

The absence of Bhuvneshwar and Bumrah means that India enter the series with an inexperienced fast-bowling line-up that includes only 11 T20Is between the trio of Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar and Khaleel Ahmed.

Even on the spinners’ front, the pair of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are missing from the squad and includes Ravindra Jadeja, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar and Rahul Chahar.

Rishabh Pant continues to be the lone wicket keeping option in the absence of Dhoni.