After the Sri Lanka series, India will host New Zealand for the white-ball series. Team India will lock horns with the Black Caps in three ODIs starting on January 18, followed by three T20Is. And on Friday, the selection committee announced a 16-member squad each for ODIs and T20Is.
The BCCI has once again sidelined Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the T20I squad. Hardik Pandya will be the captain in the shorter format, and Suryakumar Yadav is the vice-captain. Prithvi Shaw has also been selected after almost 18 months. Washington Sundar is also back with the team.
But a couple of notable names who are currently playing in the ongoing ODI series against Sri Lanka are not part of the upcoming series against New Zealand. Axar Patel, who won “Man of the Series” in the T20I series against Sri Lanka, is not part of the white-ball squad for the ODIs and T20Is against New Zealand, and KL Rahul has also been rested.
However, the BCCI also revealed that both cricketers have taken a break from the series due to personal commitments. The BCCI tweeted, “KL Rahul & Axar Patel were unavailable for the New Zealand Home series due to family commitments.” Meanwhile, the Indian fans have had pretty mixed reactions to KL Rahul sitting out.