No Gill, Jitesh for T20 World Cup; Ishan Kishan returns to India T20I squad

Ishan Kishan and Rinku Singh have been included in India's 15-man squad for the Men's T20 World Cup and the five-match T20I series against New Zealand in the lead-up to the global event next year. Suryakumar Yadav will lead the side while Axar Patel has been named as the vice-captain.

Shubman Gill, who was vice-captain of the squad until the recently concluded T20I series against South Africa, and Jitesh Sharma, have missed the cut. The squad was announced on Saturday (December 20) by BCCI Secretary Devajit Saikia, captain Suryakumar Yadav and chief selector Ajit Agarkar.

India Squad: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Axar Patel (vc), Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Varun Chakaravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Rinku Singh

Gill had missed the last two T20Is due to a foot injury. He scored 291 runs in 15 T20I innings this year at an average of 24.25 and a strike rate of 137.26, with no fifties or hundreds.

The batting lineup includes Abhishek Sharma, Suryakumar, Sanju Samson, Tilak Varma, Rinku and Kishan. Hardik Pandya, who scored 63 off 25 balls in the final T20I in Ahmedabad, is one of four all-rounders alongside Axar, Shivam Dube and Washington Sundar.

The bowling attack includes three frontline pacers and two frontline spinners. Jasprit Bumrah will lead the pace attack with Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana. The spinners are Varun Chakaravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, India will face New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is. The T20I series will be played from January 21 to January 31. The squad for the three ODIs, to be played from January 11 to January 18, will be announced later.