Cheteshwar Pujara Included In Squad For England Test, Umran Malik Called Up For South Africa T20Is

The BCCI's selection committee announced the squads for the upcoming T20I series against South Africa and for the rescheduled 5th Test against England. KL Rahul will lead in T20Is with Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh getting maiden call-ups. Pujara is back in the Test squad.

Cheteshwar Pujara has made a comeback to India's Test team while youngsters like Umran Malik and Arshdeep Singh have received an India call-up as the All-India Senior Selection Committee on Sunday named the squads for the upcoming five-match T20I series against South Africa, beginning June 9 at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi, and the rescheduled 5th Test against England, which will be played in Birmingham in the first week of July.

The senior pros -- Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah have all been rested for the T20Is, while youngsters, who have impressed in the ongoing IPL 2022, have been given an opportunity. KL Rahul will be leading the side while pace sensation Umran Malik has earned a maiden call-up.

Veteran wicketkeeper Dinesh Karthik has also made his way back into the squad on the back of some strong performances for Royal Challengers Bangalore this season. Hardik Pandya, who is leading Gujarat Titans in the ongoing IPL season, has also returned to the squad. Hardik had last played for India in the 2021 T20 World Cup in UAE. Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav are among the leading wicket-takers in the ongoing IPL season and hence the duo have been named in the squad as well. Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are also in the squad. Punjab Kings seamer Arshdeep Singh who has given strong performances has also earned a call-up to the national side.

Talking about the Test squad for the one-off Test against England, all the senior members will be back and Rohit Sharma will be back to lead the side. KS Bharat has been named as back-up wicketkeeper to Rishabh Pant. Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are the pace-bowling options while Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are the spin options. Cheteshwar Pujara has also earned his place back in the squad on the back of strong performances for Sussex in County Championship Division 2.

Back to the T20I squad for the series against South Africa, Mumbai Indians wicketkeeper-batter Ishan Kishan had an underwhelming IPL, but he has retained his spot, while Ruturaj Gaikwad is there in the team as well. The likes of Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel and Ravi Bishnoi are also a part of the T20I squad. From the previous T20I series against West Indies and Sri Lanka, Venkatesh Iyer has retained his place.