IND vs BAN T20Is: Mayank Yadav gets maiden call-up, Varun Chakravarthy makes India comeback

New Delhi: Pace sensation Mayank Yadav got his maiden India call-up while Varun Chakravarthy returned to national colours after a gap of three years as the BCCI announced their squad on Saturday for the T20I series against Bangladesh. Kolkata Knight Riders pacer Harshit Rana, who didn’t get a game in the T20I series against Zimbabwe, has also been named in the 15-member squad.

The Lucknow Super Giants pacer, who grabbed the eyeballs in IPL 2024 with his raw pace, has been on the sidelines since April 30 after suffering an injury. He did return in the tournament but injured himself again to be ruled out of IPL 2024. Since then, he was monitored by the BCCI medical team at the National Cricket Academy (NCA).

NEWS – #TeamIndia’s squad for T20I series against Bangladesh announced.

More details here – https://t.co/7OJdTgkU5q #INDvBAN @IDFCFIRSTBank pic.twitter.com/DOyz5XGMs5

— BCCI (@BCCI) September 28, 2024

Sanju Samson and Jitesh Sharma are the two wicketkeepers in the side. India will start the series with the first match at Gwalior on October 6. Chakravarthy was rewarded for his super show en route to KKR’s title triumph in IPL 2024 and 12 wickets in the Tamil Nadu Premier League. He finished second in the most wicket-taker’s list with 21 scalps behind fellow KKR pacer Harshit Rana (24) in IPL 2024.

The Tamil Nadu spinner made his India debut in 2021 and also played in the T20 World Cup in Dubai. His last game for India was against Scotland in the T20 World Cup 2021. Also named in the side was left-handed opener Abhishek Sharma who hit a century in just his second T20I in Zimbabwe earlier this year.

Hyderabad all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was initially named in the Zimbabwe tour but missed out due to injury, also got a place in the side. With a long red-ball schedule ahead, the BCCI decided to rest premier pacers Mohammed Siraj and Jasprit Bumrah.

India will play three T20Is in Gwalior (October 6), New Delhi (October 9) and Hyderabad (October 12) against Najmul Hossain Shanto’s Bangladesh.

India squad for the Bangladesh T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav.