England v India 2014: Indian ODI, T20 squads announced - Sanju Samson makes the cut, Yuvraj Singh dropped
Kerala wicketkeeper batsman Sanju Samson and Mumbai pacer Dhawal Kulkarni have been rewarded for their stellar performances in the just concluded quadrangular A-team one-day tournament in Australia, which the Indian team won, with a slot each in both the Indian One Day International and Twenty20 squads for the series against England.
Following the ongoing Test series, which is tied at 1-1 with two more matches to go, the two teams will clash against each other in a 5-match ODI series and a T20 international, with the first match starting on August 25 at Bristol.
ODIs/T20ITeam: MSD(C), Virat, Shikhar, Rohit, Rahane, Raina, Jadeja, Ashwin, Binny, Bhuvi, Shami, Mohit, Rayudu, Umesh, Dhawal, Samson, Karn
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 5, 2014
Down Under tour rewards
The 19-year-old Samson ended the series as the leading run-scorer for India, playing as a finisher in contrast to his usual top order role, while Kulkarni, a 25-year-old right-arm medium pace bowler, with 14 wickets in 6 matches, led the wicket-taking charts.
While Cheteshwar Pujara and Robin Uthappa have been dropped, Manoj Tiwary and Yuvraj Singh continue to remain on the sidelines, the former despite doing decently well in Australia, where he scored 4 half-centuries across formats. Uthappa’s no-show in the tour Down Under has cost his spot, as well.
Railways leg-spinner Karn Sharma has been called-up, too, in recognition of him delivering in back-to-back seasons in the Indian Premier League. Ambati Rayudu and Ajinkya Rahane have managed to hold on to their spots, and, having done little of note in the international arena so far, they will be looking forward to cement their places this time, before coming under the scanner.
With Umesh Yadav and Stuart Binny slotting in, the rest of the squad is very much along the expected lines. Shikhar Dhawan’s failures in the ongoing Test series seem to have been overlooked.
Emphasis on youngsters
"Only Amit Mishra had been ruled out of selection since he is undergoing treatment and rehab following a back injury," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said. "Considering the World Cup, the management as well as the selectors have put more emphasis on selecting some of the youngsters like Sanju Samson, Mohit Sharma, Stuart Binny and Karn Sharma."
India squad
MS Dhoni (c&wk), Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Stuart Binny, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Mohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Umesh Yadav, Dhawal Kulkarni, Sanju Samson, Karn Sharma.