Mohammed Shami select for World T20

Shami named in India squad for ICC World T20 2016

The Indian selectors on Friday (February 5) picked Pawan Negi and Mohammed Shami in the 15-man squad for the ICC World Twenty20 2016 in India.

Shami has not played for India since the World Cup last year due to a knee injury. He was picked in the limited-overs squads for the tour of Australia last month, but was withdrawn due to a hamstring injury.

Negi, who has been picked for the three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka starting next week, has retained his place.

Virat Kohli, rested against Sri Lanka, returns as expected.

Negi has the experience of playing T20 cricket with the likes of MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ashish Nehra, having played key roles for Chennai Super Kings in the Indian Premier League after he joined the side in 2014. He has 479 runs at a strike-rate of 134.92 and 46 wickets at an economy of 7.42 from 56 T20 matches and was in fine form in the recently concluded Syed Mushtaq Ali tournament.

Dhoni, as expected, will lead the squad. The senior trio of Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh and Ashish Nehra also keep their places.

The 16-team ICC World T20 will be played in three stages from March 8 to April 3.

India are placed in Super 10 Group 2 along with Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and a qualifier from the group stage. India begin their campaign against New Zealand in Nagpur on March 15 and face Pakistan in Dharamsala on March 19.

Squad:

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

'We have good time to take a call on Shami' - Patil

India have picked seamer Mohammed Shami for the World T20 and Asia Cup. Shami came back from Australia with a hamstring injury, and has not played for India since the 2015 World Cup. Virat Kohli, who has been rested for the three T20Is against Sri Lanka, also came back duly, replacing Manish Pandey in the 15-man squad. Shami took Bhuvneshwar Kumar's place.

The selection of Shami was a calculated risk. He had not proved his match fitness at the time of the announcement, on February 5. India's first match in the World T20 is on March 15, against New Zealand. The advantage with Shami is that from now we have 30 days before we start the World T20," chairman of selectors Sandeep Patil said. "Also we have the Asia Cup. So we have good time for making a call on Shami. He has been one of our best bowlers. He has recovered, he has started bowling. That's what I can say at the moment."

Apart from the XI that beat Australia 3-0 in the T20I series in Australia, India selected Ajinkya Rahane, Shami, Harbhajan Singh and left-arm spinner Pawan Negi. The uncapped Negi is the only left-field selection in the squad. He used to play for Chennai Super Kings, and represents Delhi in domestic cricket. He bowls quick left-arm spin, and is a big hitter down the order.

In a press conference in Australia, Dhoni had said the four players outside the XI should be able to fit in more than one slot should a need arise. Negi can do that: on a turning pitch he can play the role Hardik Pandya did, and he can also replace Ravindra Jadeja as the specialist spinner.

Rahane, who used to open for Rajasthan Royals, can slot in at the top of order should Shikhar Dhawan, who has not scored an international half-century and strikes at 120 per 100 balls in all T20 cricket, fail. Rahane can also play a role in the middle order if required.

Dhoni had also said that Harbhajan would play if the opposition has many left-hand batsmen. It is Harbhajan's experience and hitting ability down the order that come in handy, according to Dhoni.


The big change from India's last WorldT20 squad was the absence of legspinner Amit Mishra, who was India's second-highest wicket-taker. While he has come back into the Test team since then, he has not played a Twenty20 for India.