'Uncapped' Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj named in India T20I squad

Batsman Shreyas Iyer and fast bowler Mohammed Siraj have been named in the 16-man Indian squad for the three-match T20I series against New Zealand, beginning November 1 at the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium, New Delhi.

Iyer, who was earlier named in the India's Test squad in Australia but did not get a chance to make his debut, recently enjoyed a string of success for India A across formats as he scored 140*, 65, 108, 82 and 90 against New Zealand A and South Africa A.

Siraj, on the other hand, has got a nod in the national squad on the back of his fine performances in the Ranji Trophy and Inter-State T20 Tournament last season. He subsequently was also picked for India A's tour of South Africa where he bagged 10 wickets.

Meanwhile, veteran pace bowler Ashish Nehra has been named in the squad only for the first T20I as he had announced earlier this month that he would bid adieu to cricket following this match.

K L Rahul, who has been left out for the ongoing three-match ODI series against New Zealand, has been retained for the T20I series.

The national selectors have also decided to include Dinesh Karthik, who was named in the T20 squad against Australia.

It should be noted that the Men in Blue have never beaten New Zealand in a T20I in five head-to-head games.

The two sides are currently playing three-match ODI series, with the visiting side leading the series by 1-0 following a seven-wicket win in Mumbai on Sunday.

India T20I squad : Virat Kohli (capt), Rohit Sharma, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shikhar Dhawan, MS Dhoni (wk), Dinesh Karthik, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Mohammed Siraj.