India Announces T20 Squad for South Africa; Raina Recalled

Raina was in top-form in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, smashing an unbeaten hundred and a couple of half-centuries.

Suresh Raina played his last international, a T20 against England, in February 2017.

(Photo: AP)

India’s squad for T20I series:

Virat Kohli (Captain) Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni (wicket-keeper), Dinesh Karthik, Hardik Pandya, Manish Pandey, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur

Batsman Suresh Raina was rewarded for his recent domestic performance by being recalled to the Indian Twenty20 squad for the three-match series against South Africa starting 18 February.

Raina has also overcome fitness issues to make it to the 16-man squad led by Virat Kohli.

The southpaw had played his last international, a T20 against England, in February 2017 before being sidelined with fitness issues. Passing the mandatory ‘Yo Yo’ test also paved the way for his return.

He was also in top-form in the recently-concluded Super League of Syed Mushtaq Ali, smashing an unbeaten hundred and a couple of half-centuries for Uttar Pradesh.

Familiar faces like Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shikhar Dhawan were back in the side after being rested for the last T20 series against Sri Lanka.

The crux of the ODI and T20 squad for the limited-overs leg in South Africa remains the same.

The return of senior players means the likes of Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Siraj, Washington Sundar, and Basil Thampi miss out. All four were part of the home series against Sri Lanka.

Pacer Jaydev Unadkat has been retained after bagging the man of the series award against Sri Lanka, while left-arm spinner Axar Patel made a comeback in the shortest format.

Mumbai pacer Shardul Thakur has also been picked after earning a spot in the ODI squad for the six-match series starting 1 February.

The three-match T20 series in South Africa begins on 18 February in Johannesburg, followed by matches in Centurion (21 February) and Cape Town (24 February).