IND vs NZ | Rohit Sharma returns as India drop Sanju Samson from New Zealand tour

Rohit Sharma, who was rested for the Sri Lanka series after a long year, returned to the squad for the upcoming Kiwi challenge as the senior selection committee played their cards close to their chest by not picking the side for the Test series. Rohit has been in excellent form lately, and his return might force the team management to drop KL Rahul to the No.3 position, with Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan as opening the innings.

Deepak Chahar's long injury break helped the impressive Shardul Thakur retain his place in the side, as does Navdeep Saini who will assist Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami in the pace department. While Vijay Shankar has been included in the India A squad for New Zealand since Hardik Pandya's rehabilitation process is taking longer than expected, Shivam Dube has retained his place in the senior side.

After warming the bench for so long, Sanju Samson's time as a passenger in the Indian side has come to an end, with the Kerala wicket-keeper being dropped from the squad for the New Zealand series. He played a single game against Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded series, and failed to impress.

The first match of the series will be played in Auckland on January 24.

India’s T20I squad: Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur