Kohli rested from T20s against Bangladesh, maiden call-up for Shivam Dube
Mumbai, Oct 24: India captain Virat Kohli was on Thursday rested from the upcoming three-match T20 series against Bangladesh while Mumbai all-rounder Shivam Dube was rewarded with a maiden call-up for his "phenomenal" exploits with the India A team.
The prolific Sanju Samson and leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal returned to the side for the T20 Internationals.
The 24-year-old Samson from Kerala has played his only T20I, against Zimbabwe in 2015. A regular in the India A set up, Samson has been rewarded for a good Vijay Hazare Trophy season, having amassed 410 runs in eight innings, including a double-century earlier this month.
Dashing all-rounder Hardik Pandya was not discussed in the selection meeting as he underwent a surgery in the UK for a back injury this month, paving the way for the 26-year-old rookie Dube's inclusion in the shortest format.
Dube pipped Vijay Shankar as the second choice all-rounder, primarily based on his big-hitting prowess.
Chairman of selection committee MSK Prasad said, "You can see, earlier we had Hardik Pandya, then we also tried Vijay Shankar. All of us agreed in unison that the role we have, he (Dube) fits in very well.
"He bats aggressively, his performances in the India A Series in West Indies and also against South Africa in the ODIs (for India A) was phenomenal. He has gone up by leaps and bounds, a notch higher and we are convinced about it."
As has been the case in the past, Rohit Sharma will lead the squad in Kohli's absence.
Apart from the three-match T20 series which starts in New Delhi on November 3, followed by matches at Rajkot and Nagpur on November 7 and 10 respectively, Bangladesh will also play two Tests as part of the World Championship, in Indore and Kolkata, from November 14-18 and November 22-26 respectively.
The upcoming tour was on Monday thrown into jeopardy after the Bangladesh players refused to participate in any cricketing activity until their demands, including a hike in salary, were met.
However, the tour was back on track after the cricketers, led by star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan, on Wednesday called off their strike after getting assurance from the country's board that all their demands will be met.
The squad for the Test series against the neighbours remained unchanged after India's 3-0 whitewash of South Africa recently. Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem, who picked up four wickets on his Test debut against South Africa, was not considered for selection.
Shahbaz, though, was not part of the original squad against the Proteas, coming in as replacement for the injured Kuldeep Yadav ahead of the Ranchi Test.
Also finding a place in the T20 squad was Mumbai seamer Shardul Thakur while all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was rested.
Rishabh Pant has been the natural heir to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who hasn't featured in any international fixture since India's exit from the 50-over World Cup earlier this year, but Samson could now push him for a slot in the XI.
Delhi pacer Navdeep Saini was omitted on fitness grounds, paving the way for Shardul, who has played the last of his T20Is in March 2018.
"Experienced pacer Bhuvneshwar Kumar could make a comeback from injury in the next series (against the West Indies)," chairman of selectors MSK Prasad said.
"Navdeep Saini was not available, that is the reason we picked up Shardul Thakur," he added.
Injured pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah's return will take longer, he added.
Both Bumrah and Hardik underwent surgeries in the UK earlier this month for back injuries.
When asked about Chahal, he said, "With regards to him, we wanted to try out Chahal and that's the reason we are giving him so many opportunities."
India's squad for T20I series against Bangladesh:
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(wk), Washington Sundar, Krunal Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Khaleel Ahmed, Shivam Dube, Shardul Thakur
Squad for Test series against Bangladesh:
Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Saha (wk), R Jadeja, R Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant.
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Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
