Gurkeerat Singh had been the one constant in many man-of-the-match decisions over the last few months in domestic fixtures and the young Punjab all-rounder’s perseverance paid off today when the selection committee picked him in the squad for the first three ODIs against South Africa.
Karnataka left-arm seamer Srinath Aravind too earned a maiden call-up with his name being picked in the 15-man T20 squad.
The Sandeep Patil-led selection committee announced the teams for the three T20s and the first three One day Internationals against the Proteas starting October 2 at Dharamsala.
Contrary to recent media reports, Mahendra Singh Dhoni will continue to captain the side in both the shorter formats, while senior off-spinner Harbhajan Singh was retained in the T20 squad for his consistent show during the tour of Zimbabwe.
However, left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja was once again ignored as the selectors decided to persist with young Axar Patel.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra’s good show against Sri Lanka was also rewarded as he found a place in both the squads.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan, recuperating from a hand fracture he suffered during the first Test against Sri Lanka last month, was also included in both the squads.
T20I Squad: MS Dhoni (captain and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Amit Mishra, S Aravind.
Squad for 1st 3 ODIs: MS Dhoni (captain and wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ambati Rayudu, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane, Stuart Binny, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Gurkeerat Singh Mann, Amit Mishra, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Umesh Yadav.