NEW DELHI, May 8: Defending champions India today opted for the tried and tested in their Champions Trophy squad with the fit-again Rohit Sharma and Mohammed Shami returning to the side.
Karnataka batsman Manish Pandey pipped young chinaman Kuldeep Yadav as the 15th member of the touring side.
Rohit, who has recovered from a thigh injury, made a comeback as selectors gave due weightage to his round the year performance. Shami is making a comeback to the 50-over squad having last played an ODI during 2015 World Cup semifinal.
Overall, the selection panel, headed by MSK Prasad, kept faith in the squad which defeated England in a home series earlier this year.
India will play their opening match of the Champions Trophy, to be held in England, against arch-rivals Pakistan on June 4. The event itself will get underway on June 1.
Pandey has made it as an extra batsman in the squad to be led by Virat Kohli. Prasad said the selectors seriously considered Kuldeep Yadav too before he was put on the standby list.
�We definitely considered the name of Kuldeep. He would have been a surprise package but whether we would have played with two spinners is a question. Since Yuvraj (Singh) and Kedar (Jadhav) can bowl spin, he narrowly missed out,� Prasad explained after the selection committee meeting here.
Some of the other names that were discussed seriously were keeper-batsman Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Shardul Thakur and Suresh Raina. Along with Kuldeep, these four are also on the standby list.
Prasad made it clear that even though IPL is a premier domestic tournament, the performance of players in the event can�t be the sole criteria for selecting a squad for a 50-over tournament. � PTI
Squad:
Virat Kohli (captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Yuvraj Singh, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Standby: Kuldeep Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Dinesh Karthik, Shardul Thakur, Suresh Raina. Administrative manager: Kapil Malhotra (Cricket Club of India).
