Singh has not represented India since the World Twenty20 in 2014
Image courtesy of: Zimbio
India have opted to draft veteran all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and left-arm pace bowler Ashish Nehra in their Twenty20 squad for the upcoming limited overs series against Australia.
Singh has not played since the 2014 World Twenty20 final, while Nehra has not represented India since March 2011.
Pace bowler Mohammed Shami and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja were included in both the Twenty20 and ODI squads, but Suresh Raina, Ambati Rayudu, Stuart Binny and Amit Mishra were dropped.
“Yuvraj Singh will always remain special.” Sandeep Patil, the chairman of selectors, said. “The selectors are very happy, and the captain is also very happy to have him back. We cannot promise any player whether he will be part of the next tour or the World Cup. We want every player to perform and every player has a chance to come back in the team.
“We have introduced and given many youngsters [opportunities], which we are very happy about. This game is not only of youngsters, this game also needs to have experience. And we are looking at the World Cup T20 championship in India where we will certainly need experienced players.
“Keeping in mind World T20, this is a chance for a lot of players to use as a platform. Those who have not been selected, they were all discussed. We have extended the pool. Nehra is a consistent performer in the T20 format. He will be useful in the team. We will need experienced players in the World T20, and the Australia tour is perfect chance to give them a shot.”
In regards to the ODI squad, there was a maiden call-up for Punjab left-arm seamer Brainder Sran, while Manish Pandey and Rishi Dhawan were both recalled.
“We felt Indian team in batting and bowling was looking very much predictable,” Patil said. “So we wanted to have some variations, and that is why we have picked a player in our batting order [Pandey] and a player in the bowling department [Sran] also.”
India Twenty20 squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Harbhajan Singh, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra
India ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Axar Patel, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Gurkeerat Singh, Rishi Dhawan, Brainder Sran