Rohit Sharma named India captain for New Zealand T20Is

Opening batter Rohit Sharma will succeed Virat Kohli as India's T20I captain starting with the three-match home series against New Zealand from November 17. KL Rahul has been named vice-captain of the 16-player squad announced by the BCCI on Tuesday.

Test and ODI captain Virat Kohli has been left out of the group while Indian Premier League 2021 stars Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan, all who were part of the Indian camp ahead of the T20 World Cup, were also named in the squad.

The series will also mark the return of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal who was dropped from the T20 World Cup squad and Shreyas Iyer, who was part of the reserves for the showpiece event. 

Indian pacer Mohammed Siraj, who last played a T20I against Bangladesh in 2018, will lead the young pace attack which is without the likes of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami and Shardul Thakur. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar are the other experienced seamers in the squad.

Ravichandran Ashwin, who played the last three Super 12s matches in the T20 World Cup, will lead the spin attack alongside Chahal and Axar Patel. All-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya have also been rested for the series.

The series will also be batting legend Rahul Dravid's first outing as the senior team's new head coach.

India will play the first T20I at Jaipur on November 17, followed by the second match at Ranchi on November 19 and the final T20I at Kolkata on November 21.

India's T20I squad for New Zealand series: Rohit Sharma (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Venkatesh Iyer, Yuzvendra Chahal, R Ashwin, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj.