Shivam Dubey could come into the India T20I squad in place of the injured Hardik Pandya. (File Photo)
Rishabh Pant could have competition in the form of Sanju Samson, while Shivam Dube may be included in place of the injured Hardik Pandya when the Indian selectors meet to pick the India squad for the upcoming T20I series at home against Bangladesh on Thursday.
The three-match T20 series between India and Bangladesh will start in New Delhi on November 3, followed by matches at Rajkot and Nagpur. Bangladesh will also play two Tests as a part of the World Championship in Indore and Kolkata after that.
India captain Virat Kohli is expected to be named, despite there being concerns over his workload. Kohli has featured in 48 out of the 56 games India have played across formats since October 2018.
Samson, who recently hit a double hundred for Kerala in the Vijay Hazare Trophy, is expected to come in but only as second option to Pant for the time being.
“There is no harm if both Rishabh and Sanju are there in the team. They have played together in IPL also. Rishabh has had limited success in shorter formats but he is a long-term investment and we need to persist with him,” a BCCI official was quoted as saying by PTI.
“Everyone agrees that Shivam’s bowling is still not international standard and nowhere near the kind of pace and variety Hardik possesses. But he is a left-hander, which is an advantage and can hit big sixes. Even Kohli has seen him a bit in IPL while playing for RCB,” the official was further quoted as saying.
KL Rahul, who came up with a matchwinning performance in the Vijay Hazare Trophy semifinal for Karnataka on Wednesday, is expected to retain his place. Shikhar Dhawan might also be persisted with – with Mayank Agarwal set to give him competition.
It is unlikely that the wrist spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal will get a look in as Rahul Chahar and Washington Sundar are set to get another opportunity. Deepak Chahar, Navdeep Saini and Khaleel Ahmed are expected to be the three frontline pacers.
(With PTI inputs)
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