Pune, Oct 26: Mahendra Singh Dhoni was today dropped from India's 16-member teams for both the T20 International series against the West Indies and Australia later this year.
Captain Virat Kohli was rested from the three-match T20I series against the West Indies beginning on November 4. Rohit Sharma will lead the team in Kohli's absence.
Kohli, however, returns for the four-match Test series against Australia later this year with the BCCI's selection committee naming a 18-member team for the important assignment. He will also lead the side in the three T20 matches against Australia.
The selection panel also named a 15-member India A team for first four-day game against New Zealand A.
Team for three T20I match series against West Indies:
Rohit Sharma (C), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.
Team for four-match Test series against Australia:
Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Prithvi Shaw, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, Parthiv Patel, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Ishant, Umesh Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Team for three-match T20I series against Australia:
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (vc), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed.
India A team for first four-day game against New Zealand A:
Ajinkya Rahane (C), M Vijay, Prithvi Shaw, Mayank Agarwal, Hanuma Vihari, Rohit Sharma, Parthiv Patel (wk), K Gowtham, Shahbaz Nadeem, Md Siraj, Navdeep Saini, Deepak Chahar, R Gurbani, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharath.
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Bengaluru: Kumara Chandrashekharanath Swamiji, head of the Vishva Okkaliga Mahasansthana Mutt, has expressed regret over his controversial statement suggesting that "Muslims should be denied voting rights."
In a press release, Swamiji clarified, "Muslims are also citizens of this country. Like everyone else, they too have voting rights. If my statement yesterday has caused discomfort to our Muslim brothers, I sincerely apologise for it."
He further added, "Okkaligas are inherently tolerant of all religions. We have always treated people of every faith equally. Our Mutt maintains cordial relations with Muslims, and they frequently visit us. Similarly, we attend their weddings and other joyous occasions. Hence, there is no intolerance towards this community." Swamiji appealed to the public to disregard the controversy surrounding his remark.
The controversial statement was made during a farmers' rally, ‘Raita Gharjana,’ organised by the Bharatiya Kisan Sangh, Karnataka Pradesh, at Freedom Park, Bengaluru, on Tuesday. Addressing the gathering, Swamiji had said, "A law should be enacted to deny voting rights to the Muslim community, and the Wakf Board should be abolished."
The remark drew widespread criticism from political leaders and the public alike. Following the backlash, Swamiji issued his apology, stating, "Muslims are also citizens of this country. Like everyone else, they too have voting rights. If my statement yesterday has caused discomfort to our Muslim brothers, I sincerely apologise for it."