Mohammed Shami returns to the Indian T20I team against England; Rishabh Pant absent, Axar Patel named vice-captain

India's ace fast bowler, Mohammed Shami, is set to mark his long-awaited comeback to international cricket in the upcoming month. The 34-year-old speedster has been included in the Indian T20I squad for the five-match series against England. Shami's last appearance for the national team was during the 2023 ODI World Cup. He made his comeback to competitive cricket last year by participating in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy, followed by representing Bengal in the Ranji Trophy as well.

Shami was sidelined owing to an ankle injury, which required surgery. He was slated to make a return in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year, but missed the bus owing to another injury setback. In a media release, the BCCI stated the fast bowler needed “more time for controlled exposure to bowling loads.”

Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana also retained their places in the Indian T20I squads, forming a pace trio alongside Shami for the series.

Axar Patel has been named the vice-captain for the series, marking his first series in the role. Varun Chakaravarthy, who produced an excellent outing in India's last T20I series against South Africa, has also retained his place alongside Ravi Bishnoi, and Washington Sundar.

However, India's star wicketkeeper-batter, Rishabh Pant, remains absent from the T20I squad. While Sanju Samson, who smashed a century as an opener in South Africa, is likely the first-choice keeper, Dhruv Jurel has been named as back-up. Interestingly, in November last year, Pant became the highest-paid cricketer in the history of the Indian Premier League, fetching INR 27 crore from Lucknow Super Giants after an intense bidding war.

Nitish Kumar Reddy, fresh from an impressive maiden Test series Down Under, where he made his mark at the MCG with a century, will also feature in the five-T20I series starting January 22.

Suryakumar Yadav continues to lead the side with Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh forming the core of the batting order.

India's squad for the T20I series:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).

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