Twitter comes up with mixed reactions after India announce fresh squad for New Zealand T20Is

BCCI, on Tuesday (November 9), announced India’s 16-man squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against New Zealand. A refreshed squad saw the performers from the 2021 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) being rewarded while a few all-format regulars were rested as well. Rohit Sharma has taken over the captaincy from Virat Kohli who stepped down after the T20 World Cup while KL Rahul is named vice-captain.

Apart from Kohli, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ravindra Jadeja have been rested for the series while all-rounder Hardik Pandya isn’t picked due to fitness issues. Shardul Thakur, Varun Chakaravarthy and Rahul Chahar, three players who were in the World Cup squad, have missed out.

Interestingly, Yuzvendra Chahal makes his comeback after shockingly missing out on a position in the WC squad despite doing well in the second leg of the IPL. The man who replaced him, Rahul Chahar, played only match during the Super 12 stage and has been eventually left out. However, the leggie is the part of India A squad which will tour South Africa to play three four-day matches.

Deepak, Shreyas and Axar get call-ups

As expected, all the three traveling reserves, Deepak Chahar, Shreyas Iyer and Axar Patel have been including the main squad this time around and may get regular chances to prove their worth. Among the IPL performers, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Venkatesh Iyer, Harshal Patel and Avesh Khan have been selected and these players will be fresh and raring to perform with another T20 World Cup only 11 months away which is to be played in Australia.

India T20I squad: 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, Mohd. Siraj

Surprisingly, Bhuvneshwar Kumar has been retained despite being dropped from the playing XI following a poor game against Pakistan. He was benched for the rest of the four matches during Super 12. Apart from Rohit and Rahul, Rishabh Pant and Suryakumar Yadav are the players who have been a part of bubble for so long now. Mohammed Siraj is another pacer making a comeback in the shortest format of the game.

The fans were excited to see a refreshed side as India start preparing for the next year’s T20 World Cup. There was mixed response on Twitter for the squad as the fans expected a few more players to get rest who have been playing continuously.

Here’s how Twitter reacted:

Good to see a champion bowler @yuzi_chahal back in the squad.. Good luck for the series.. Win it for India 🇮🇳 #teamindia @BCCI

— Harbhajan Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) November 9, 2021

😉 #INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/PhZHNwgtmH

— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) November 9, 2021

Realised that I should be more specific. I was referring to Venkatesh Iyer (Not Shreyas) …who opened for KKR. But might be asked to play as a finisher against NZ. https://t.co/jU5gVUtt7e

— Aakash Chopra (@cricketaakash) November 9, 2021

Sanju Samson not even selected in India A squad for SA tour.#JusticeForSanjuSamson

— Memesxcricket🇮🇳 (@Cricketmemes10) November 9, 2021

Harshal Patel and Siraj in India T20I Squad.
Happy for both of them pic.twitter.com/ttv7Bwx08q

— SG 👑 (@RCBSG30) November 9, 2021

Worst decision because natarajan is missing in this India squad

— Arumugam (@kaathu_vaakula) November 9, 2021

Getting captainship in ODIs and T20s is deserving but getting the same in test when you were not in 15men squad before two years is something not understandable….. Even india thrashed Aussies under Rahane……😬😬😬😬😬 #RohitSharma

— kousik mishra (@listenkousik09) November 9, 2021

#Dhawan
One of the finest yet underrated openers of india.But still his worth cannot be matched by anyone.I want him in the indian squad against nz

— Hemanth_Bharat (@bharat_hemanth) November 9, 2021

Am I the only one seeing the problem with the India T20 squad? Where are the finishers? And why do we need 5 openers? @CricCrazyJohns @SriniMaama16 @mukundabhinav

— Vijay Mayilvahan (@VijaiMadras) November 9, 2021

Hoping that for next year WC squad will be selected on the basis of the player's performance in the T20Is that we are going to play before the WC and nothing else. #India

— kashish Gandhi (@kashishgandhi) November 9, 2021

I dont understand why selectors don't consider @imkuldeep18 after getting so much success in T20 international cricket and also is there any problem with @IamSanjuSamson to pick him in the squad,after getting consistent in every #ipl #wtf is doing selectors of india cricket team

— Shantanu Singh (@i_m_shan09) November 9, 2021

Shardul, rahul chahar, shami dropped. Don’t understand the reason of bhuvi inclusion. If ur building team for wc 22, then we are going backwards

— Ravi Gor (@RaviGor6) November 9, 2021