World T20 and Asia Cup: Shami, Negi included in Team India squad

Putting an end to the ever-growing speculations, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on 5 February announced the Indian squad for the upcoming ICC World T20, to be staged across eight venues in the country from 8 March to 3 April.

Rookie all-rounder Pawan Negi was the surprise pick for the World T20 and Asia Cup, while the Indian selectors also reposed faith in veterans such as Yuvraj Singh and Harbhajan Singh by including them in the squad.

Ajinkya Rahane, who was said to be in contention as the seventh specialist batsman, was also included at the expense of young Manish Pandey who struck an unbeaten hundred against Australia in the fifth ODI recently.

"Manish Pandey performed exceptionally well in Australia, his name was also discussed. When selectors pick a team, we always give importance to domestic performance. It is not that we are only looking at seniors, we have looked at the performance, fitness and record of the domestic players as well," chairman of the BCCI selection committee, Sandeep Patil, said.

The Gujarat seam bowler, Jasprit Bumrah, has also been rewarded for his consistent performances against Australia in the recently-concluded series. He will partner Mohammed Shami who marks his return to international cricket after recovering from his injury.

Apart from Pandey, the selectors also ignored the veteran seam bowlers Ishant Sharma and Bhuvneshwar Kumar - who have struggled to perform lately.

India will play a three-match T20 series at home against Sri Lanka starting from 9 February. The Men in Blue will then travel to Bangladesh for the Asia Cup, scheduled from 24 February to 6 March. And, finally, India will begin its World T20 campaign on 15 March when they take on New Zealand at Nagpur's VCA stadium in Jamtha.

Squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (c/wk), Rohit Sharma, Shikar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Ajinkya Rahane, Ravindra Jadeja, Hardik Pandya, R Ashwin, Harbhajan Singh, Jasprit Bhumrah, Ashish Nehra, Pawan Negi, Mohd Shami.