Cricket News: MS Dhoni makes a comeback in the T20 squad for NZ tour

MS Dhoni, who wasn't picked for the three-match T20I rubber against the Windies at home and Australia, returns to the fold for the T20I series versus New Zealand as part of the 15-man squad, starting in February next year. Kedar Jadhav, who is an established member of the 50-over side, makes a comeback for the shortest format of the game, while Washington Sundar and Shreyas Iyer haven't been included. Meanwhile, Hardik Pandya, who was out of action for close to three months due to a back problem he suffered during the Asia Cup, was drafted for the three-match ODI series against Australia and the subsequent limited-overs series versus New Zealand. After recovering from the injury, the 25-year-old took part in a Ranji Trophy game versus Mumbai where he snared seven scalps in the match and scored a fifty. After proving his match fitness, he was drafted into the Test side for the final two games of the Australia series. Manish Pandey, who has been on the fringes of the limited overs set-up for close to three years, has been dropped from both the ODI and T20I squads. Rishabh Pant, the promising wicketkeeper-batsman, who made his debut versus the Windies in Guwahati last month, has been left out of the ODI unit. The southpaw accumulated just 41 runs across the three games that he played versus the Windies. After the ongoing Test series, he will be returning home to play for India 'A' in a five-match one-day series against England Lions. Dinesh Karthik, who hasn't played an ODI since the Asia Cup, will be the second wicketkeeper. The squad also includes veteran pacer Mohammed Shami. The 28-year-old was left out of India's 50-over squad for the final three ODIs against Windies after returning figures of 1 for 59 and 2 for 81 in the first two games of the series. However, his pace colleague, Umesh Yadav, has been axed from both the ODI and T20I units. He took just two scalps over three limited-overs games versus the Windies. India will play 13 ODIs ahead of the World Cup next year while they will play 18 limited overs international ahead of the quadrennial event.