BCCI announces squad for New Zealand ODI series, ignores Ashwin, Jadeja

The BCCI on Saturday announced team for the three-match ODI series against New Zealand. Senior spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin were again failed to secure a place in the 15-member squad.

Notable names missing from the squad are of batsman K L Rahul, Umesh Yadav, Ashwin and Jadeja. The spin duo has not played for India since the Test series in Sri Lanka two months ago.

Wicket-keeper batsman Dinesh Karthik and pacer Shardul Thakur were recalled and opener Shikhar Dhawan has also returned to the ODI team after missing the series against Australia.

Karthik, who last played for India during the West Indies tour in July and was also a part of the Champions Trophy squad, has been picked again.

The 32-year-old was named in the India T20 squad for the recently-concluded Australia series but did not get a game.

Speedster Thakur was ignored for the series against Australia after playing in Sri Lanka. Now, he has been picked in place of Umesh Yadav, who has been dropped.

Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel are the three specialist spinners in the team.

The 15-member squad:  Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni (wk), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Shardul Thakur.

(With PTI Inputs)