NEW DELHI, (Reuters) – Fit-again all-rounder Hardik Pandya returned to India’s one-day squad yesterday but opener Rohit Sharma, who is recovering from a calf injury, was left out of the three-match series against South Africa beginning next week.
Pandya underwent back surgery in October last year and was in fine form on his return to action in an invitational Twenty20 tournament earlier this month.
Opener Shikhar Dhawan also returned after a shoulder injury kept him out of the team’s recent tour of New Zealand.
Fellow opener Rohit, however, continues to be sidelined by the injury which cut short his tour of New Zealand.
Swing bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who was sidelined with a hernia last year, was also back in the Virat Kohli-led side.
India dropped opener Mayank Agarwal, middle order batsman Kedar Jadhav, all-rounder Shivam Dube and quicks Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Shami from the squad which lost 3-0 in New Zealand.
India begin their series against South Africa in Dharamsala on Thursday, followed by matches in Lucknow (March 15) and Kolkata (March 18).
India’s ODI squad: Shikhar Dhawan, Prithvi Shaw, Virat Kohli (Ccaptain), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Shubman Gill.
