India announce T20I squad for series against Ireland and England

Virat Kohli has been named as captain of the Indian side for the two-match T20I series against Ireland and the three-match series against England. MS Dhoni, Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Hardik Pandya are several other regulars, who are a part of India's 16-man squad.

Suresh Raina, who was part of the India's victorious Nidahas Trophy campaign also finds a place in the squad, along with the hero from that tournament, Dinesh Karthik. Manish Pandey, who has had an indifferent IPL 2018 has been picked ahead of the in-form Rishabh Pant and Ambati Rayudu, who were pushing his case for a spot in the side. India will also have a trio of openers in Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul to choose from.

Siddarth Kaul has been rewarded for his consistent performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2018 with a spot in the squad and he will be looking to make his debut. He is one of the four front-line pacers in the T20I squad along with Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah and Umesh Yadav.

Hardik Pandya has been picked as the sole seam bowling all-rounder in the side while Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav will form the spin trio that has been chosen.

The T20I series against Ireland begins on June 27 and the second T20I is on June 29. Both matches will take place at The Village in Dublin. The T20I series against England begins on July 3 with the first T20I at Manchester, the second T20I at Cardiff on July 6 while the final T20I on July 8 will be at Bristol.

The same squad has been announced for both the Ireland and England T20I series.

India squad for T20I series: Virat Kohli (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, MS Dhoni (WK), Dinesh Karthik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya, Siddarth Kaul, Umesh Yadav

Along with the T20I squad for both series, India's ODI squad for the England series and the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June.