Umran Malik, Arshdeep Singh named in India’s T20I 18-man squad versus SA, Pujara returns for Test against England

Pace sensation Umran Malik and death-overs specialist Arshdeep Singh have received a maiden call-up in India’s 18-man T20I squad for the home series against South Africa.

Cheteshwar Pujara also returns to the one-off Test match against England. Pujara was dropped for the two-match home series against Sri Lanka but gets back after scoring four consecutive centuries for Sussex in the County Championship.

Meanwhile, Umran Malik impressed one and all with his extra pace in the ongoing Tata IPL 2022. The gun fast bowler took 22 wickets in 14 matches for Sunrisers Hyderabad and consistently bowled around 150 kmph.

On the other hand, Arshdeep Singh, who bowled accurately in the death overs for Punjab Kings, also makes the cut into the T20I squad against the Proteas. Singh took 10 wickets in 14 matches but more importantly, he conceded his runs at an economy rate of 7.70.

Big players like Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested and KL Rahul will lead the team against SA. Dinesh Karthik also returns to the squad after impressing with his finishing touches for RCB. Hardik Pandya also gets back into the team after a long gap.

Players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Avesh Khan, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan, and Venkatesh Iyer have been included in the T20I squad.

The first T20I between India and South Africa will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi on June 9 whereas the one-off Test match against England will be played at Birmingham on July 1.

India’s T20I squad: KL Rahul (c), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (vc, wk), Dinesh Karthik (wk), Hardik Pandya, Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik

India’s Test squad: Rohit Sharma (c), KL Rahul (vc) Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Hanuma Vihari, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rishabh Pant (wk), KS Bharat (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shardul Thakur, Mohd Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohd Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Prasidh Krishna