India have rested several big names for the upcoming Nidahas Trophy to be held in Sri Lanka from March 6.
Rohit Sharma was named captain for the T20I tri-series also involving Bangladesh with Virat Kohli being given a rest after a demanding tour of South Africa.
Also joining Kohli for some well deserved rest are MS Dhoni, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya.
Washington Sundar, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda and Mohammad Siraj have all been given a call up for the tournament in Sri Lanka.
While Rohit has been named captain for the tournament, fellow opener Shikhar Dhawan has been appointed his deputy.
Fast bowlers Bumrah and Bhuvenshwar had a heavy work load in South Africa and will take a thoroughly deserved rest.
Pant has played two T20s for India.
Chairman of selection committee, MSK Prasad, said: “We’ve kept in mind the workload and upcoming schedule while finalizing the team for Nidahas Trophy. The high-performance team has suggested that adequate rest should be given to our fast bowlers to help improve athletic performance, maximise rest and prevent injury.”
This is Pant’s first call up since playing a lone T20I against the West Indies last year while Sundar, Hooda and Siraj have all been called up to the limited-overs squads in recent times.
INDIA SQUAD: Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj.