Pacer Shami named in World T20 squad

Pacer Mohammed Shami was included in India's squad for the World Cup T20 commencing next month, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Friday.

Shami has not played for the country since the 2015 World Cup due to a knee injury. He was named in the limited-overs squads for the tour of Australia, but was withdrawn due to another injury.

Uncapped left-arm slow bowler Pawan Negi was also picked. The same team would take on Sri Lanka in a three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting next week.

Young batsman Manish Pandey, who impressed with a match-winning century in the third T20 against Australia recently, wasn't named in the squad. Pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma were also left out.

Batsman Ajinkya Rahane, injured during the One-Day series against Australia, was selected. The selectors also expectedly included star batsman Virat Kohli after resting him for the three-match T20 series against Sri Lanka.

India are in Group B alongside New Zealand, Pakistan, Australia and a yet-to-be-decided qualifier in the premier tournament that is being hosted by India.

India squad for World T20:

Mahendra Singh Dhoni (cpt & wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami, Pawan Negi.