Mohammed Shami Returns to India’s Squad for England T20Is, Axar Patel Named Vice-Captain

India's ace bowler, Mohammed Shami, is set to make his highly anticipated return to international cricket this month as part of India's T20I squad for the upcoming five-match series against England. The 34-year-old pacer, who last played for India during the 2023 ODI World Cup, made his return to competitive cricket in the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy and later featured in the Ranji Trophy for Bengal.

Shami had been sidelined due to an ankle injury, which required surgery. He was expected to make his comeback in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy last year but missed out due to another injury setback. According to a BCCI statement, Shami required additional time to manage his bowling workload in a controlled manner.

Alongside Shami, Arshdeep Singh and Harshit Rana have also retained their spots in the T20I squad, forming a formidable pace trio for the series.

In a significant move, Axar Patel has been appointed vice-captain for the series, marking his first stint in the role. Varun Chakaravarthy, who impressed in India's previous T20I series against South Africa, will also be part of the squad, alongside Ravi Bishnoi and Washington Sundar.

Notably, Rishabh Pant, India's star wicketkeeper-batter, has been excluded from the squad. Sanju Samson, who scored a century as an opener in South Africa, is expected to be the first-choice wicketkeeper, with Dhruv Jurel named as the back-up. Pant, who became the highest-paid cricketer in IPL history last November, fetching INR 27 crore in a bidding war with Lucknow Super Giants, is missing from the line-up.

Fresh off a stellar debut Test series in Australia, where he made a mark with a century at the MCG, Nitish Kumar Reddy will also be part of the squad for the T20I series, starting January 22.

Suryakumar Yadav will continue to lead the side, with key players like Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, and Rinku Singh forming the backbone of the Indian batting lineup.

India's T20I squad for the series:

Suryakumar Yadav (C), Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Rinku Singh, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel (vc), Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Mohammad Shami, Varun Chakaravarthy, Ravi Bishnoi, Washington Sundar, Dhruv Jurel (wk).