Varun Chakravarthy returns, Mayank Yadav called up as India announce T20I squad

The BCCI announced the squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh set to begin from October 6. Mayank Yadav has earned his maiden India call up while Varun Chakravarthy has returned to the side after three years.

In Short

• Mayank Yadav impressed everyone with his fiery pace in IPL 2024
• Varun Chakravarthy last played for India in T20 WC 2021
• IND vs BAN T20 series is set to begin from October 6

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the squad for the upcoming three-match T20I series against Bangladesh on Saturday, September 28.

Notably, India are to set play Bangladesh in a three-match T20I series beginning from October 6 in Gwalior. The most notable inclusion in the squad is of the speedster Mayank Yadav who rattled batters with his fiery pace in the Indian Premier League (IPL 2024).

Playing for LSG, Yadav picked seven wickets from four matches at an average of 12.14 and an economy of 6.98 before injuries ruled him out for the rest of the season. The 22-year-old announced his arrival in the T20 extravaganza in style as he bowled a fiery spell of 3/27 in four overs in Lucknow’s 21-run victory over PBKS.

As a result, Yadav was adjudged Player of the Match on his IPL debut. He followed it up with another Player of the Match performance in his next net game against RCB bowling a miserly spell of 3/14 in four overs to help his team defeat the Bengaluru-based franchise by 28 runs.

Varun Chakravarthy returns after 3 years

However, Yadav’s dream IPL debut was cut short after three matches as he suffered a side strain which forced him to remain on the bench for the majority of the season. He returned to play the last game for his franchise against MI and registered figures of 1/31 in 3.1 overs.

Apart from him, Varun Chakravarthy has made a comeback to the Indian team after a gap of almost three years. He made his international debut in 2021 on the tour to Sri Lanka and was later picked in the T20 World Cup squad later that year over Yuzvendra Chahal where he failed to impress.

However, after back to back sensational seasons in the IPL, where he picked 20 wickets from 14 matches in 2023 and 21 wickets from 15 matches in 2024, Chakravarthy has earned his place back in the team.

Wicketkeeper batter Jitesh Sharma has also marked his return to the team after last featuring in the series against Afghanistan earlier this year in January. Nitish Kumar Reddy, who earned his maiden India call up for the Zimbabwe tour earlier this year but missed the series due to an injury, has been also included in the 15-member squad.

Explosive opener Abhishek Sharma also marks his return after being ignored for the recent Sri Lanka series while Ruturaj Gaikwad continues to be missing. The rest of the names with regular features with Suryakumar Yadav taking up the leadership duties.

India squad for Bangladesh T20Is: Suryakumar Yadav (C), Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson (wk), Rinku Singh, Hardik Pandya, Riyan Parag, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravi Bishnoi, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jitesh Sharma (wk), Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, Mayank Yadav