Washington, Deepak, Basil: Newbies in India’s T20 Squad vs SL

Know more about the three rookies we may see playing for India soon.

The BCCI named the 15-member squad for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka, starting 20 December. Skipper Virat Kohli will be continue to be on break, and will be replaced by batsman Rohit Sharma, who is also leading the ODI team against the Sri Lankans.

Besides Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Axar Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar – who played India’s previous T20 series against New Zealand – have also been rested for the upcoming twenty-over rubber.

Instead, the national selectors have named rookies Washington Sundar, Basil Thampi and Deepak Hooda, who’ve earned their maiden India call-ups after impressive performances during in the Indian Premier League and the domestic season.

Virat, Bhuvi, and Shikhar have all been rested keeping the South Africa tour in consideration. With regard to the youngsters, someone like Basil Thampi, Siraj, Hooda, Shreyas Iyer – all these players have been doing really well in domestic cricket.

MSK Prasad, Chief of Selectors

Though India vs Sri Lanka is hardly an exciting contest anymore, and the series could be a chance for the selectors to discover some new talent. Here’s a look at the three newbies we may see playing for India soon.

Washington Sundar

After all the headlines he made during the IPL for his name and well, bowling, Washington Sundar hardly needs an introduction. The 18-year-old off-spinning all-rounder from Tamil Nadu was one of the big finds for Rising Pune Supergiants last season, with Jaydev Unadkat.

Though he picked up only eight wickets, Sundar ended the season with an economy rate of 6.16 and impressed with his consistency while bowling. Subsequently, he was included in the Indian Board President XI’s for a 50-over match against Australia at Chennai where he dismissed RPS captain Steve Smith and Aussie batsman Glenn Maxwell. In the eight overs that he bowled, Sundar gave away just 23 runs.

A top-order batsman, he began bowling more on the advice of Indian Under-19 coach Rahul Dravid and played a key role in his state team Tamil Nadu's Vijay Hazare Trophy and Deodhar Trophy victories this season.

The 18-year-old scored a ton against Tripura in the Ranji Trophy as an opener but surprisingly didn't get another chance to play at the top of the order in subsequent matches.

Sundar was also lauded for his performance in the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh last year, specially in the final against West Indies where he gave away just 18 runs in nine overs.

Basil Thampi

IPL 10’s emerging player of the year, Basil Thampi got his maiden India call-up after a successful year in the twenty20 league and for India A. With 11 scalps, the 24-year-old paceman was Gujarat Lions’ second-highest wicket in his debut season. However, it was the cricketer’s yorkers that caught everyone’s attention.

The IPL this year was a turning point in my career, especially the match against Mumbai Indians. In my last two overs I bowled something like 10 yorkers to batsmen like Rohit Sharma and Kieron Pollard. This got me noticed.

Basil Thampi

The Kerala bowler earned his maiden call-up to the India A side for the tour of South Africa in July. He then played the home series against New Zealand A where he dismissed three batsmen in four balls.

Thampi, who trains at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai under the watchful eyes of Australian legend Glenn McGrath, is currently with the Kerala team and will be playing the Ranji Trophy quarter, starting 7 December.

Deepak Hooda

Originally from Haryana, rookie all-rounder Deepak Hooda captains Baroda’s domestic team. The 22-year-old smashed a century in his first-class debut back in 2014, and has since scored 2,208 runs in 31 matches. Also known to bowl spin, the cricketer has picked seven wickets in first-class cricket.

Known to be big-hitter since his Under-19 days, Hooda scored 151 runs in 14 matches at a strike-rate of 158.94 in his maiden Indian Premier league season with Rajasthan Royals. In 2016, he was picked by Sunrisers Hyderabad for a whopping Rs 4.2 crore – 42 times his base price of Rs 10 lakh. In the two editions of the league since, he has scored 222 runs and picked up five wickets in 27 matches.

Being an all-rounder will obviously benefit me. I am an all-rounder and presently doing both the things (batting and bowling) good. I am feeling confident about my batting and bowling. I will give my 110 percent.

Deepak Hooda

The 22-year-old recently also scored a half-century during India A’s home series against New Zealand A at Visakhapatnam.

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